LETTERS   AND    LETTERING 


LETTE  R  S 
LETTERING 

A  TREATISE  WITH  200  EXAMPLES 
FRANK     CHOUTEAU     BROWN 


BOSTON 

BATES     &     GUILD     COMPANY 
MCMVI 


FIFTH     EDITION 


I 

Copyright,  1902,  l>y 
BATES    6f   GUILD    COMPANY 


Printed  by 

THE  EVERETT  PRESS  COMPANY 
Boston,  Mast. 


STACK 
ANNEX 


3  GOO 


NOTE 

THIS  book  is  intended  for  those  who  have  felt  the  need  of 
a  varied  collection  of  alphabets  of  standard  forms,  arranged 
for  convenient  use. 

The  alphabets  illustrated,  while  primarily  intended  to 
exhibit  the  letter  shapes,  have  in  most  cases  been  so  arranged 
as  to  show  also  how  the  letters  compose  into  words,  except 
in  those  instances  where  they  are  intended  to  be  used  only 
as  initials.  The  application  of  classic  and  medieval  letters 
to  modern  usages  has  been,  as  far  as  possible,  suggested 
by  showing  modern  designs  in  which  similar  forms  are 
employed. 

In  view  of  the  practical  aim  of  this  treatise  it  has  been 
deemed  advisable  to  include  a  larger  number  of  illustrative 
examples  rather  than  to  devote  space  to  the  historical  evo- 
lution of  the  letter  forms. 

To  the  artists,  American  and  European,  who  have  so 
kindly  furnished  him  with  drawings  of  their  characteristic 
letters  —  and  without  whose  cordial  assistance  this  book 
would  hardly  have  been  possible  —  to  the  master-printers 
who  have  allowed  him  to  show  types  specially  designed  for 
them,  and  to  the  publishers  who  have  given  him  permission 
to  borrow  from  their  books  and  magazines,  the  author  wishes 
to  express  his  sincere  obligations. 

F.  C.  B. 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 


I    and  2    ALPHABET  AFTER  SEBASTIAN  SERLIO  (1473-1554). 
Reconstructed  by  Albert  R.  Ross        .          .          .          -4-5 

3  WIDTH     PROPORTIONS    OF    MODERN     ROMAN    CAPITALS. 

F.  C.  B 7 

4  DRAWING  FOR  INCISED  ROMAN  CAPITALS.      For  cutting  in 
granite.      Letter  forms  based  upon  those  shown  in  figures 

I  and  2.     F.  C.  B.  .  .          .  .  .  .10 

5  PHOTOGRAPH  OF  INCISED  ROMAN  CAPITALS.      Cut  in  granite 
from  drawing  shown  in  figure  4  .         . .          .  .11 

6  INCISED  ROMAN  CAPITALS.    From  the  Arch  of  Constantine, 
Rome.     315  A.D.     From  a  photograph          .          .  .12 

7  MODEL  FOR  INCISED  ROMAN  CAPITALS.     Used  for  inscrip- 
tions cut  in  granite  on  Boston  Public  Library.      McKim, 
Mead  &  White,  Architects.     Photographed  from  a  cast     .      1 3 

8  ROMAN  INCISED  CAPITALS.      From  fragments  in  marble. 
National  Museum,  Naples.     Rubbing  .          .  14 

9  ROMAN   INCISED   INSCRIPTION.      Museo  Civico,   Bologna. 
From  a  photograph  .  .          .          .          ..15 

10  ROMAN    INCISED   INSCRIPTION.      Museo  Civico,    Bologna. 
From  a  photograph  .  .          .          .  .  1 5 

1 1  DETAIL  FROM  A  ROMAN  INCISED  INSCRIPTION.      Showing 
composition.      Redrawn  from  a  rubbing.      F.  C.  B.  .      1 6 

12  "  RUSTIC  "  ROMAN  CAPITALS.      Of  pen  forms,  but  cut  in 
stone.     Redrawn  from  a  rubbing.      From  fragment  in  the 
National  Museum,  Naples.     F.  C.  B.  .          .  .16 

1 3  ROMAN    CAPITALS    FROM     FRAGMENTS    OF    INSCRIPTIONS. 
Showing    various    characteristic    letter   forms.      Redrawn 
from  rubbings.     F.  C.  B.  .          .  .  .  1 7 

14  MODERN   ROMAN  INCISED  CAPITALS.      Executed  in  sand- 
stone.     From  the  Harvard  Architectural  Building,  Cam- 
bridge, Mass.     McKim,  Mead  &  White,  Architects        .      18 

I  5   LETTERS  SHOWN  IN  ALPHABET  i  AND  2,  IN  COMPOSITION. 

By  Albert  R.  Ross  .          .          .          .          .  19 


viii  LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 

FIGURE  PAGE 

1 6  and    17    CLASSIC    ROMAN    CAPITALS.       Cut    in    marble. 

Redrawn    from    rubbings    made    in    the    Forum,    Rome. 

F.  C.  B 20-21 

1 8  and  1 9    CLASSIC  ROMAN  CAPITALS.     Late  period.     Cut  in 

marble.     Redrawn  from  rubbings.     F.  C.  B.          .          22-23 

20  PORTION  OF  ROMAN  INSCRIPTION.     With  supplied  letters. 
Redrawn  from  a  rubbing.     F.  C.  B.     .          .          .          .      24 

21  CLASSIC  ROMAN  INSCRIPTION.    Incised  in  marble.    Redrawn 
from  a  rubbing.      F.  C.  B.          .          .          .          .  25 

22  CLASSIC  ROMAN  INSCRIPTION.     In  stone.      Redrawn  from 

a  rubbing.     F.  C.  B. 26 

23  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  INSCRIPTION.    Square-sunk  in  marble. 
From  a  photograph  of  a  mortuary  slab  .          .          .28 

24  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  MEDAL.     By  Vittore  Pisano.      I  5th 
Century.     From  a  photograph    .          .          .          .          .29 

25  MODERN  FRENCH  MEDAL.     By  Oscar  Roty.     From  a  pho- 
tograph of  the  original  in  the  Luxembourg,  Paris     .  .29 

26  CAPITALS  ADAPTED  FROM  RENAISSANCE  MEDALS.     F.  C.  B.      30 

27  SPANISH    RENAISSANCE    ALPHABET.      By   Juan    de    Yciar. 
From  "Arte  por  la  qual  se  esena  a  escrevir  perfectamente. " 
(Saragossa,  1550)  .          .          .          .          .  .  31 

28  RENAISSANCE  INLAID  MEDALLION.      From  a  floor-slab  in 
Santa  Croce,  Florence.    Redrawn  from  a  rubbing.    F.  C.  B.      32 

29  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  CAPITALS.    From  an  inlaid  floor-slab 
in  Santa  Croce,  Florence.    (Compare  figure  28.)    Redrawn 
from  a  rubbing.      F.  C.  B.          .          .          .          .          -33 

30  ITALIAN    RENAISSANCE    PANEL.      From    Raphael's    tomb, 
Pantheon,  Rome.      From  a  photograph          .  .  .34 

3 1  ITALIAN    RENAISSANCE    INCISED    INSCRIPTION.      From   the 
Marsuppini  Tomb,  Santa  Croce,  Florence,  1455.      Rub- 
bing      35 

32  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  INCISED  INSCRIPTION.     From  a  floor- 
slab   in   Santa    Croce,   Florence.      Early    I5th    Century. 
Rubbing         .          .          .          .          .          .          .          -35 

33  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  CAPITALS.      Redrawn  from  inscrip- 
tion on  the  Marsuppini  Tomb,   Santa  Croce,   Florence, 
1455.     ( Compare  figure  3 1 .)      F.  C.  B.  .          .      36 

34  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  CAPITALS.      Redrawn  from  rubbings 

of  inscriptions  in  Santa  Croce,  Florence.      F.  C.  B.  .      37 

35  and  36      ITALIAN    RENAISSANCE    CAPITALS.       By    G.    A. 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS  ix 

FIGURE  PAGE 

Tagliente.  From  <La  vera  arte  dello  eccellento  scrivere.' 
(Venice,  1524) 38-39 

37  and  38  GERMAN  RENAISSANCE  CAPITALS.  By  Albrecht 
Diirer.  Adapted  from  '  Underweyssung  der  messung, 
mit  dem  zirckel,  On  richtscheyt,  in  Linien,  etc.'  (Nurem- 
berg, 1525)  .  .  .  40-41 

39  and  40  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  CAPITALS.  By  Sebastian 

Serlio.  (1473-1554.)  Compare  figures  I  and  2  42-43 

41  GERMAN  RENAISSANCE  CAPITALS.    By  Urbain  Wy'ss.    From 
'Libellus  'valde  doctus .  .  .  scribendarum  literarum  genera 
complectens.'      (Zurich,   1549)          .          .          .          -44 

42  ITALIAN    RENAISSANCE    PANEL.      Above   the   door   of  the 
Badia,  Florence.      Redrawn  by  Claude  Fayette  Bragdon. 
From   'Minor  Italian    Palaces.'      (Cutler  Manufacturing 
Company,  Rochester,  N.Y.,  1898)  .          .          .      45 

43  MODERN  TITLE  IN  ANGLO-SAXON  CAPITALS.      By  Bertram 
G.  Goodhue.     ( Compare  figure  46.)     From  'The  Quest 

of  Merlin.'      (Small,  Maynard  &  Co.,  Boston,  1891)   .      46 

44  MODERN  TITLE  WITH  CHARACTERISTICS  OF  i6th  CENTURY 
ENGLISH  CAPITALS.     By  Walter  Crane.     (Compare  figure 
49.)     From  'The  Story  of  Don  Quixote.'     (John  Lane, 
New  York,  1900)  .          .          .          .          .          .46 

45  TITLE  IN  EARLY  ENGLISH  CAPITALS.      By  W.  Eden  Nes- 
field.       From    '  Specimens    of    Medieval    Architecture. ' 
(Day  &  Sons,  London,  1862)  .          .          .          -47 

46  ANGLO-SAXON    CAPITALS.      6th    Century.      From    '  The 
Rule  of  St.  Benedict.'      Bodleian  Library,  Oxford  .      48 

47  ANGLO-SAXON    CAPITALS.      7th    Century.      From    '  The 
Gospels  of  St.  Cuthbert '  .....      49 

48  ANGLO-SAXON    CAPITALS.      Early    loth  Century.      From 

an  Anglo-Saxon  Bible        ......      50 

49  EARLY  ENGLISH  CAPITALS.      i6th  Century.     From  tomb 

of  Henry  vn,  Westminster  Abbey,  London  .  .  .51 

50  and  5  I     SCHEME  FOR  THE  CONSTRUCTION  OF  ROMAN  SMALL 
LETTERS.      F.  C.  B 54~55 

52  SPANISH    ROMAN    PEN   DRAWN    LETTERS.      By    Francisco 
Lucas.      From  'Arte  de  Escrevirde.'    (Madrid,  1577)   .      58 

53  SPANISH  ROMAN  PEN  DRAWN  LETTERS.      Showing  use  of 
above.     By  Francisco  Lucas.     From  'Arte  de  Escrevirde.' 
(Madrid, '1577) 58 


x  LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 

FIGURE  PAGE 

54  SPANISH   ITALIC    PEN    DRAWN    LETTERS.      By    Francisco 
Lucas.      From  'Arte  de  Escrevirde.'      (Madrid,   1577)      59 

55  SPANISH   ITALIC   PEN  DRAWN  LETTERS.      Showing  use  of 
above.     By  Francisco  Lucas.     From  'Artede  Escrevirde.' 
(Madrid,  1577) 59 

56  ITALIAN  SMALL  LETTERS.     By  J.  F.  Cresci.      From  <Per- 
fetto  Scrittore.'      (Rome,  1560)          .          .          .  .60 

5  7  ENGLISH  1 7th  CENTURY  LETTERS.    Incised  in  slate.    From 

tombstones     .  .          .          .          .          .          .  .61 

58  MODERN  SMALL  LETTERS.     After  C.  Hrachowina's  'Initi- 
alen  Alphabete  und  Randleisten  verschiedener  Kunstepo- 
chen.'      (Vienna,  1883) 62 

59  MODERN  SMALL  LETTERS.      By  Claude  Fayette  Bragdon. 
Based  on  Venetian  types  cut  by  Nicholas  Jenson,  1471-81      63 

60  INSCRIPTION  FROM  ENGLISH  1 7th  CENTURY  TOMBSTONE. 
From  slate  tombstone  at  Chippenham,  England.      1691. 

F.  C.  B 64 

6 1  ROMAN  AND  ITALIC  TYPE.     Designed  by  William  Caslon. 
From  his  Specimen  Book.      (London,  1734)         .          .      65 

62  MODERN   ROMAN  TYPE,    "MONTAIGNE."      Designed  by 
Bruce  Rogers  for  The  Riverside  Press,  Cambridge,  Mass.      66 

63  MODERN  ROMAN  TYPE,  "  RENNER."    Designed  by  Theo. 

L.  De  Vinne  for  The  De  Vinne  Press,  New  York  .      67 

64  MODERN    ROMAN    TYPE,    "  MERRYMOUNT.  "      Designed 
by  Bertram   G.    Goodhue  for   The   Merrymount   Press, 
Boston,  Mass.          .          .          .          .          .          .  .68 

65  MODERN   ROMAN   TYPE,    "CHELTENHAM   OLD   STYLE." 
Designed  by  Bertram  G.  Goodhue  for  The  Cheltenham 
Press,  New  York.      (Owned  by  American  Type  Found- 
ers Company  and  Linotype  Company)          .  .  -7° 

66  MODERN  GREEK  TYPE.      Designed  by  Selwyn  Image  for 
The  Macmillan  Company,  London     .  .  .  72 

67  MODERN  ROMAN  TYPE.      Designed  by  C.  R.  Ashbee  for 

a  Prayerbook  for  the  King  of  England  .          .          -73 

68  MODERN  GERMAN  CAPITALS.      After  lettering  by  J.  M. 
Olbrich 74 

69  MODERN  GERMAN  CAPITALS.    By  Gustave  Lemmen.    From 
'  Beispiele   Kunstlerische  Schrift.'      (A.    Schroll  &  Co., 
Vienna)          .          .          .          .  .          .          .  -75 


LIST     OF     ILLUSTRATIONS  xi 

FIGURE  PAGE 

70  MODERN   GERMAN    CAPITALS.      After    lettering    by  Alois 
Ludwig  .  .          .          .  .  .  .75 

71  MODERN    GERMAN    CAPITALS.      After    lettering    by    Otto 
Eckmann  .          .  .  ,   .          .  .76 

72  MODERN    GERMAN    CAPITALS.      By   Otto  Hupp.      From 
'Beispiele   Kunstlerische    Schrift.'      (A.    Schroll   &  Co., 
Vienna)          ........      77 

73  MODERN  GERMAN  CAPITALS.      By  Joseph  Plecnik.      From 
'  Beispiele   Kunstlerische   Schrift.'      (A.    Schroll   &  Co., 
Vienna)          ........      78 

74  MODERN  GERMAN  CAPITALS.      After   lettering   by   Franz 
Stuck    .........      79 

75  MODERN  GERMAN   CAPITALS.      Arranged    from    originals. 

F.  C.  B 80 

76  MODERN  GERMAN  CAPITALS.     After  lettering  by  Bernhard 
Pankok 81 

77  MODERN  FRENCH  POSTER.      'La  Libre  Esthetique.'      By 
Theo.  van  Rysselberghe  .          .  .  .  .82 

78  MODERN    FRENCH    BOOK-COVER.      By    M.    P.    Verneuil. 
From  '  L'  Animal  dans  la  decoration.'      (E.  Levy,  Paris)      82 

79  MODERN  FRENCH    LETTERS.      After  lettering  by  M.    P. 
Verneuil         .  .  .  .  .          .;.  -83 

80  MODERN  FRENCH  POSTER.      'La  Revue  Blanche.'     By  P. 
Bonnard          ........      84 

8  i    MODERN  FRENCH  MAGAZINE  COVER  DESIGN.     By  George 

Auriol.      From  'L'Image.'      (Floury,  Paris,  1897)        .      84 

82  MODERN  FRENCH   CAPITALS.      By  Alphons    M.    Mucha. 
From  'Beispiele  Kunstlerischer  Schrift.'      (A.  Schroll  & 
Co.,  Vienna)  .          .  .          .          .  .  -85 

83  MODERN  FRENCH   LETTERED  PAGE  IN   "  CURSIVE."      By 
George  Auriol.      From  '  Le  Premier  Livre  des  Cachets, 
etc.'     (Librairie  Centrale  des  Beaux-Arts,  Paris,  1901 )     .      86 

84  MODERN    FRENCH    LETTERS,    "  CURSIVE."      By    George 
Auriol 87 

85  MODERN  FRENCH  COVER  DESIGN.      By  Eugene  Grasset. 
From  'Art  et  Decoration.'      (Paris)         .          .          .          88 

86  MODERN  ENGLISH  CAPITALS.      By  Walter  Crane.      From 
'Beispiele  Kunstlerischer  Schrift.'      (A.  Schroll  &  Co., 
Vienna) 88 

87  MODERN  ENGLISH  THEATRICAL  POSTER.     By  Walter  Crane      89 


xii  LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 

FIGURE  PAGE 

88  MODERN  ENGLISH  CAPITALS.     By  Walter  Crane.     From 
'Alphabets  Old  and  New.'     (B.  T.  Batsford,  London, 
1899)          .  ....      90 

89  MODERN  ENGLISH  LETTERS.      By  Walter  Crane.      From 
'Beispiele  Kunsterischer  Schrift.'      (A.   Schroll  &  Co., 
Vienna)        .  .  .  .  .  .  .  91 

90  MODERN  ENGLISH  TITLE.     By  Joseph  W.  Simpson.    From 
'The   Book  of   Book-plates.'       (Williams   &  Norgate, 
Edinburgh)  .  .  .  .  .  .  91 

91  MODERN  ENGLISH  POSTER.     By  Joseph  W.  Simpson        .      92 

92  MODERN  ENGLISH  BOOK-COVER.     By  William  Nicholson. 
From  'London  Types.'     (R.  H.  Russell,  New  York, 
1898) 92 

93  MODERN  ENGLISH  MAGAZINE  COVER.     By  Lewis  F.  Day. 
From  'The  Art  Journal.'      (H.  Virtue  &  Co.,  London)      93 

94  MODERN   ENGLISH   TITLE.     By  Gordon   Craig.     From 

'  The  Page '  (The  Sign  of  the  Rose,  Hackbridge,  Surrey)      93 

95  MODERN  ENGLISH  CAPITALS.     By  Lewis  F.  Day.     From 
'Alphabets  Old  and  New.'     (B.  T.  Batsford,  London, 

l899) p.          -94 

96  MODERN  ENGLISH  TITLE  PAGE.     By  Robert  Anning  Bell. 
From  'Poems  by  John  Keats.'      (George  Bell  &  Sons, 
London,  1897)     .......      95 

97  MODERN  ENGLISH  BOOK-COVER.     By  Edmund  H.  New. 
From  '  The  Natural  History  of  Selborne. '     (John  Lane, 
London,  1900)     .          .          .          .          .          .          -95 

98  MODERN    ENGLISH    BOOK-COVER.       By   Selwyn    Image. 
From   '  Representative  Painters   of  the   I  gth  Century. ' 
(Sampson,  Low,  Marston  &  Co.,  London,  1899)        .      95 

99  MODERN   ENGLISH   CAPITALS.     Anonymous.      From  an 
advertisement         .          .          .          .  .  .  .96 

100  MODERN  ENGLISH  TITLE.     By  Charles  Ricketts.     From 
'  Nimphidia  and  the  Muses  Elizium.'     (The  Vale  Press, 
London)       ........      96 

101  MODERN    AMERICAN    TITLE.      By    Edwin    A.    Abbey. 
From   'Selections  from  the  Poetry  of  Robert  Herrick.' 
(Harper  &  Brothers,  New  York,  1899)     .          .  97 

1 02  MODERN  AMERICAN  TITLE.    Anonymous.     From  '  Harp- 
er's Weekly.'     (New  York)   .          .          .          .          -97 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS  xiii 

FIGURE  PAGE 

103  MODERN    AMERICAN    MAGAZINE    COVER.      By   Edward 
Penfield.      From  '  Harper's  Weekly.'      (New  York)    .      97 

104  MODERN  AMERICAN  CAPITALS.      By  Edward  Penfield    .      98 

105  MODERN  AMERICAN  SMALL  LETTERS.      By  Edward  Pen- 
field    .          .          -99 

1 06  MODERN  AMERICAN  COVER  DESIGN.     By  H.  Van  Buren 
Magonigle    .  .  .  .  .....          .    loo 

107  MODERN    AMERICAN    CAPITALS.       By    H.    Van   Buren 
Magonigle    .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .    101 

1 08  MODERN  AMERICAN  CAPITALS.    By  Bertram  G.  Goodhue. 
From  'Masters  in  Art.'      (Boston,  1900)  .  .    102 

109  MODERN  AMERICAN  TITLE.      By  Will  Bradley.      From 
'The  Book  List  of  Dodd,  Mead  &  Co.'     (New  York, 
1899) 102 

110  MODERN  AMERICAN  CAPITALS  AND  SMALL  LETTERS.     By 
Will    Bradley.      From    'Bradley,    His    Book.'      (The 
Wayside  Press,  Springfield,  Mass.,  1896)  .  .103 

1 1 1  MODERN  AMERICAN  MAGAZINE  COVER.      By  Will  Brad- 
ley.    From  'The  International  Studio.'      (New  York)    104 

112  MODERN  AMERICAN  TICKET.      By  A.  J.  lorio       .          .    104 

113  MODERN  AMERICAN  CAPITALS.      After  lettering  by  Will 
Bradley 105 

114  MODERN  AMERICAN  CAPITALS.     By  Maxfield  Parrish     .    1 06 

115  MODERN  AMERICAN  TITLE.    By  Maxfield  Parrish.    From 
'Knickerbocker's    History    of   New    York.'      (R.    H. 
Russell,  New  York,  1900)      .          .          .          .          .107 

116  MODERN  AMERICAN  TITLE.      By  Addison  B.  Le  Boutillier   107 

117  MODERN    AMERICAN    CAPITALS.       By    Addison    B.    Le 
Boutillier      .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .108 

1 1 8  MODERN  AMERICAN  SMALL  LETTERS.      By  Addison  B. 

Le  Boutillier  .          .          .          .          .          .          .109 

119  MODERN    AMERICAN     POSTER.       By    Addison    B.    Le 
Boutillier      .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .no 

1 20  MODERN  AMERICAN  BOOK-PLATE.      By  Claude  Fayette 
Bragdon        .          .          .          .  .          .  .  .    1 1  o 

121  MODERN  AMERICAN  TITLE.    By  Claude  Fayette  Bragdon. 
From  'Literature.'     (New  York)      .  .  .  .ill 

122  MODERN  AMERICAN  LETTER-HEADING.     By  Claude  Fay- 
ette Bragdon          .          .          .          .          .          .          .    r  1 1 


xiv  LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 

FIGURE  PAGE 

123  MODERN  AMERICAN  ADVERTISEMENT.      By  H.  L.  Brid- 
well.      (Strowbridge  Lithographic  Co.,  Cincinnati)       .    112 

1 24  MODERN  AMERICAN  CAPITALS.     BT*  H.  L.  Bridwell       .    113 

125  MODERN  AMERICAN  CAPITALS.     By  Frank  Hazenplug     .    114 

126  MODERN  AMERICAN  CAPITALS,    "HEAVY  FACE."      By 
Frank  Hazenplug  .          .          .          .          .          .          .    1 1 5 

127  MODERN  AMERICAN    BOOK-COVER.      By    Frank    Hazen- 
plug.     From  ''Ickery  Ann  and  other  Girls  and  Boys.' 
(HerbertS.  Stone  &  Co.,  Chicago,  1899)  .          .116 

I  28  MODERN  AMERICAN  TITLE.  By  Edward  Edwards.  From 
'Harper's  Pictorial  History  of  the  War  with  Spain.' 
(Harper  &  Brothers,  New  York,  1899)  .  .  .116 

1 29  MODERN    AMERICAN    CATALOGUE    COVER.       By    Frank 
Hazenplug.      From  the  Catalogue  of  the  Chicago  Arts 

and  Crafts  Society.      (Chicago)         .          .  .  .    117 

130  MODERN    AMERICAN    TITLE.       By    Guernsey    Moore. 
From  ' The  Saturday  Evening  Post. '    (Philadelphia)      .    117 

1 3  i  MODERN  AMERICAN  TITLE.  By  Harry  Everett  Towns- 
end.  From  'The  Blue  Sky.'  (Langworthy&  Stevens, 
Chicago,  1 90 1 )  .  .  .  .  .  .  .118 

132  MODERN  AMERICAN  HEADING.    By  Howard  Pyle.    From 
'Harper's  Magazine.'      (New  York)         .          .          .118 

133  MODERN  AMERICAN  LETTERS.     Compiled   from  various 
sources.     F.  C.  B.          .'        .          .          .          .          .119 

134  MODERN  AMERICAN  CAPITALS.     After  lettering  by  Orson 
Lowell         .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .120 

135  MODERN  AMERICAN  SMALL  LETTERS.     F.  C.  B.    .          .121 

136  MODERN  AMERICAN  TITLES.     By  Orson  Lowell.     From 
'Truth.'      (New  York) 122 

137  MODERN  AMERICAN  TITLE.      By  Orson  Lowell.      From 
'Truth.'      (New  York)  .          .          .t  .123 

138  MODERN  AMERICAN  LETTERS.     For  rapid  use.     F.  C.  B.    124 

139  MODERN  AMERICAN   ITALIC.     For  use  in  lettering  archi- 
tects' plans,  etc.     By  Claude  Fayette  Bragdon      .  .125 

140  MODERN  AMERICAN  LETTERS,  "  CURSIVE."      For  rapid 
use.     By  Maxfield  Parrish         .          .          .  .  .126 

141  ITALIAN  ROUND  GOTHIC  SMALL  LETTERS.      After  Lucan- 
tonii  Giunta.    Redrawn  from  '  Graduate  Sanctae  Romanae 
Ecclesiae.'      (Venice,  1500)  .....    128 

142  ITALIAN  ROUND  GOTHIC  SMALL  LETTERS.      1 6th  Century. 
Redrawn  from  Italian  originals  .          .          .  .129 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS  xv 

FIGURE  PAGE 

143  SPANISH  ROUND  GOTHIC  LETTERS.     By  Francisco  Lucas. 
From  <Arte  de  Escrevirde.'      (Madrid,  1577)    .  .    130 

144  GERMAN    BLACKLETTE?    CONSTRUCTION.      By    Albrecht 
Diirer.      From  '  Undervveyssung  der  messung,  mit  dem 
zirckel,  un  richtscheyt,   in  Linien,  etc.'      (Nuremberg, 

I525) '       •  :  -133 

145  GERMAN  BLACKLETTERS.     Redrawn  from  manuscripts      .    134 

146  GERMAN  BLACKLETTERS.    With  rounded  angles.    Redrawn 
from  manuscripts    .  .  .  .  .  .  .    1 3  5 

147  ITALIAN  BLACKLETTER  TITLE-PAGE.      By  Jacopus  Philip- 
pus  Foresti  (Bergomensis).     From  <  De  Claris  Mulieri- 
bus,  etc.'     (Ferrara,  1497)     .....    137 

148  GERMAN  BLACKLETTER  PAGE.    By  Albrecht  Diirer.    From 
the  Prayerbook  designed  by  him  for  the  Emperor  Maxi- 
milian.     (Nuremberg,  1515)  .  .  .  .138 

149  GERMAN  MEMORIAL  BRASS  WITH  BLACKLETTER  INSCRIP- 
TION.    Ascribed  to  Albrecht  Diirer.     Cathedral  of  Meis- 
sen,  1510.      From  '  Fac-similes  of  Monumental  Brasses 
on  the  Continent  of  Europe.'      (W.  F.  Creeney,  Nor- 
wich, 1884)  . 139 

I  50  MODERN  AMERICAN  CALENDAR  COVER  IN  BLACKLETTER. 
By  Bertram  G.  Goodhue.  From  '  Every  Day's  Date 
Calendar.'  (Fleming,  Schiller  &  Carnrick,  New  York, 
1897)  .  ...  .141 

I  5 1  MODERN  GERMAN  BLACKLETTERS.  By  Walter  Puttner. 

From  'Jugend.'  (Munich)  .  .  .  .  .142 

152  MODERN  GERMAN  TITLE   IN   BLACKLETTER.      By   Otto 
Hupp.    From  «  Miinchener  Kalendar.'    (Munich,  1900)    142 

153  MODERN  AMERICAN  PAGE  IN  ENGLISH  BLACKLETTER.    By 
Edwin  A.  Abbey.    From  '  Scribner's  Magazine.'     (New 
York) 143 

154  UNCIAL  GOTHIC  INITIALS.     Redrawn  from  I2th  Century 
examples.      F.  C.  B.       .  .  .  .  .  .    144 

155  UNCIAL  GOTHIC  INITIALS.     Redrawn  from  13th  Century 
examples.      F.  C.  B.  .          .          .          .          .    145 

156  UNCIAL  GOTHIC  CAPITALS.     Redrawn  from  1 4th  Century 
examples.     F.  C.  B.  .          .          .          .          .146 

157  UNCIAL  GOTHIC  CAPITALS.      I4th   Century.      After  J. 
Weale.      Redrawn  from   '  Portfolio  of  Ancient  Capital 
Letters.'      (London,  1838-9)  .  .          .  .    147 


xvi  LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 

FIGURE  PAGE 

158  ITALIAN  UNCIAL  GOTHIC  CAPITALS,  IN  THE  "PAPAL" 
HAND.     From  a  Florentine  manuscript  of  1315.     British 
Museum,  London.      F.  C.  B.  .          .          .          .148 

159  SPANISH  UNCIAL  GOTHIC  CAPITALS.      By  Juan  de  Yciar. 
Adapted  from  'Arte  por  la  qual  se  esena  a  escrevir  per- 
fectamente.'      (Saragossa,  1550)       ....    149 

1 60  VENETIAN  WALL  PANEL,  of  Marble,  Inscribed  with  Uncial 
Gothic  Letters.      I5th  Century.      From  the  Church  of 

S.  Giovanni  e  Paolo,  Venice.      Rubbing     .  .  .150 

161  VENETIAN  GOTHIC  CAPITALS.     I  5th  Century.    Redrawn 
from  the  rubbing  shown  in  figure  160.      F.  C.  B.          .    151 

162  GERMAN  UNCIAL  CAPITALS.      1341.     Redrawn  from  a 
memorial  brass  in  the  Cathedral  of  Liibeck  .          .  .152 

163  FRENCH  AND  SPANISH  GOTHIC  CAPITALS.     I4th  Century. 
After  W.  S.  Weatherley  .          .          .          .          .153 

164  and  165     ITALIAN  GOTHIC  INITIALS.     After  G.  A.  Tag- 
liente,  in  'La  vera  arte  dello  eccellento  scrivere.'    (Ven- 
ice, 1524)  .          .          .          ...          .      154-155 

1 66  ITALIAN  GOTHIC  INITIALS.  By  Giovanni  Battista  Palatine. 
From  '  Libro  nel  qual  s'insegna  a  scrivere.'  (Rome, 

1548)          '    -       •  156 

167,  1 68  and  169  GERMAN  GOTHIC  INITIALS.  By  P.  Frank. 
Nuremberg,  160 1.  From  Petzendorfer' s  '  Schriften- 
Atlas.'  (Stuttgart,  1889)  .  .  .  157-158-159 

170  ITALIAN  GOTHIC  CAPITALS.      1 6th  Century.      Redrawn 
from  old  examples  ......    1 60 

171  GOTHIC  CAPITALS  OF  ENGLISH  FORM.      i6th  Century. 
Redrawn  from  old  examples     .  .          .          .  .161 

172  ITALIAN  GOTHIC  CAPITALS.      1 7th  Century.      Redrawn 
from  various  examples     .          .          .          .          .          .162 

173  GERMAN  GOTHIC  CAPITALS.      1 7th  Century.      Redrawn 
from  various  manuscripts  .  .  .          .  .163 

174  GERMAN  GOTHIC  CAPITALS.      From  manuscripts  .  .164 

175  GERMAN  GOTHIC  CAPITALS.      From  manuscripts  .  .165 

176  GERMAN  GOTHIC  CAPITALS,  HEAVY  FACED  .  .166 

177  ENGLISH  GOTHIC  "TEXT,"  INITIALS  AND  BLACKLETTERS. 

I  5th  Century.      From  manuscripts     ....    167 

178  ENGLISH   GOTHIC   UNCIALS   AND   BLACKLETTERS.      I5th 
Century.      From  Queen  Eleanor's  tomb.      F.  C.  B.       .168 


LIST     OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 

FIGURE 

179  ENGLISH   GOTHIC   CAPITALS   AND   BLACKLETTERS. 
Century.    From  tomb  of  Richard  n,  Westminster  Abbey, 
London.      F.  C.  B.         .          .  .  .          .          .169 

180  GERMAN-  BLACKLETTERS.     From  a  brass.     Redrawn  from 

a  rubbing.      F.  C.  B.  .  .  .  .  .170 

181  GERMAN  BLACKLETTERS.    With  Albrecht  Diirer's  initials. 

1 6th  Century.      F.  C.  B.          .  .          .          .  •    171 

182  ITALIAN   BLACKLETTERS.      By  G.  A.  Tagliente.      From 

'  La  vera  arte  dello  eccellemo  scrivere. '    (Venice,  i  524)    172 

183  GERMAN    BLACKLETTERS.      After    lettering   by   Albrecht 
Diirer.       1 6th  Century   .  .  .          .  .  .    173 

184  GERMAN    BLACKLETTERS.      After    lettering   by   Albrecht 
Diirer.       i6th  Century  .  .  .  .  .  .174 

185  GERMAN  GOTHIC  CAPITALS.     By  Albrecht  Diirer.     i6th 
Century        .  .          .          .  ...          .  .    1 7  5 

1 86  ENGLISH    GOTHIC   BLACKLETTERS.      Late  1 5th  Century.. 
Redrawn  from  a  brass.      F.  C.  B.  .          .  .176 

187  ITALIAN   INLAID  BLACKLETTERS.     From  a  marble  slab  in 
Santa  Croce,  Florence.    Redrawn  from  a  rubbing.   F.C.B.    177 

I  88  and  1 89    MODERN  AMERICAN  BLACKLETTERS  WITH  GOTHIC 

CAPITALS.      By  Bertram  G.  Goodhue          .  .      178-179 

190  MODERN    GERMAN    BLACKLETTERS.      After    lettering   by 
Julius  Diez  .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .180 

191  MODERN  GERMAN  BLACKLETTERS,  FLOURISHED.     F.C.B.    181 

192  GERMAN   ITALIC.      By  Gottlieb  Munch.      From   '  Ord- 
nung  der  Schrift.'      (Munich,  1744)          •          •  •    l%3 

193  SPANISH  SCRIPT.     By  Torquato  Torio.      From  'Arte  de 
Escribir.'      (Madrid,   1802)    .  .          .          .          .184 

194  SPANISH  SCRIPTS.     By  Torquato  Torio.     From  'Arte  de 
Escribir.'       (Madrid,   1802)    .  .          .          .          .185 

195  SPANISH  SCRIPT.     By  Francisco  Lucas.      From  'Arte  de 
Escrevirde.'       (Madrid,  1577)  .          .          .          .186 

196  SPANISH  CURSIVE.     By  Francisco  Lucas.     From' Arte  de 
Escrevirde.'       (Madrid,  15/7)          .  .  .  .187 

197  MODERN  AMERICAN  SCRIPT  TITLE.      By  Claude  Fayette 
Bragdon.      From  an  advertisement     .  .  .  .188 

198  MODERN  AMERICAN  SCRIPT  TITLE.     By  George  Wharton 
Edwards.      From  'Collier's  Weekly.''    (New  York)    .    188 

199  FRENCH  SCRIPT  CAPITALS.      i8th  Century.     F.  C.  B.    .    189 


xviii          LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 

FIGURE  PAGH 

200  GERMAN  SCRIPT.       1 8th  Century  forms.      Adapted  from 
C.  Hrachowina's  '  Initialen,  Alphabete  und  Randleisten 
verschiedener  Kunstepochen.'      (Vienna,  1883)  .190 

20 1  SPANISH  SCRIPT  CAPITALS.    Early  1 8th  Century.   Adapted 
from  a  Spanish  Writing-book.      F.  C.  B.    .          .          .191 

202  SPANISH  SCRIPT  ALPHABETS.   Late  17 th  Century.   Adapted 
from  Spanish  Writing-books.      F.  C.  B.       .  .  .192 

203  ENGLISH  INCISED  SCRIPT.      Redrawn  from  inscriptions  in 
slate  and  stone  in  Westminster  Abbey,  London.    F.  C.  B.    193 

204  MODERN  AMERICAN   SCRIPT   BOOK   TITLE.      By   Bruce 
Rogers.     From  cover  design  of  «  The  House  of  the  Seven 
Gables.'      (Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Co.,  Boston,  1899)    .    194 

205  MODERN  AMERICAN  SCRIPT.     By  Bruce  Rogers     .  .    195 

206  MODERN  AMERICAN  SCRIPT  CAPITALS.    After  lettering  by 
Frank  Hazenplug  .  .  .          .  .          .  .196 

207  MODERN  AMERICAN  ITALIC  CAPITALS.    F.  C.  B.    .  .197 

208  MODERN  AMERICAN  SCRIPT  TITLE.    Anonymous.    From 
'Harper's  Weekly.'     (New  York)    .          .          .          .198 

209  MODERN  AMERICAN  SCRIPT  TITLE.    By  Edward  Penfield. 
From  'Harper's  Weekly.'     (New  York)  .          .          .    198 

210  DIAGRAM  TO  SHOW  METHOD  OF  ENLARGING  A  PANEL, 
from  upper  left  corner     .          .  .          .          .  .204 

211  DIAGRAM  TO  SHOW  METHOD  OF  ENLARGING  A  PANEL, 
from  perpendicular  center  line  .  .  .  .  .205 

END  PAPERS.     From  an  embroidered  Altar-cloth.      1 7th  Cen- 
tury.   Church  of  St.  Mary,  Soest,  Westphalia,  Germany. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER 


I.  ROMAN  CAPITALS i 

II.  MODERN  ROMAN  LETTERS  ...  52 

III.  GOTHIC   LETTERS      ......  127 

IV.  ITALIC  AND   SCRIPT 182 

V.  TO  THE  BEGINNER 199 


CHAPTER      I 

ROMAN     CAPITALS 

In  speaking  of  the  "  Roman  "  letter  throughout  this  chapter 
its  capital  form  —  the  form  in  monumental  use  among  the 
Romans  —  will  always  be  implied.  The  small  or  "minus- 
cule" letters,  which  present  nomenclature  includes  under 
the  general  title  of  "  Roman "  letters,  and  which  will  be 
considered  in  the  following  chapter,  were  of  later  formation 
than  the  capitals ;  and  indeed  only  attained  their  definitive 
and  modern  form  after  the  invention  of  printing  from  mov- 
able types. 

The  first  point  to  be  observed  in  regard  to  the  general 
form  of  the  Roman  capital  is  its  characteristic  squareness. 
Although  the  letter  as  used  to-day  varies  somewhat  in  pro- 
portions from  its  classic  prototype,  its  skeleton  is  still  based 
on  the  square. 

Next  to  this  typical  squareness  of  outline,  the  observer 
should  note  that  the  Roman  letter  is  composed  of  thick  and 
thin  lines.  At  first  sight  it  may  seem  that  no  systematic 
rules  determine  which  of  these  lines  should  be  thick  and 
which  thin ;  but  closer  investigation  will  discover  that  the 
alternate  widths  of  line  were  evolved  quite  methodically, 
and  that  they  exactly  fulfil  the  functions  of  making  the 
letters  both  more  legible  and  more  decorative.  Arbitrary 
rearrangements  of  these  thick  and  thin  lines,  differing  from 
the  arrangement  of  them  in  the  classic  examples,  have, 


2  ROMAN     CAPITALS 

indeed,  been  often  attempted ;  but  such  rearrangements 
have  never  resulted  in  improvement,  and,  except  in  eccen- 
tric lettering,  have  fallen  into  complete  disuse. 

The  original  thickening  and  thinning  of  the  lines  of  the 
classic  Roman  capitals  was  partly  due  to  the  imitation  in 
stone  inscriptions  of  the  letter  forms  as  they  were  written  on 
parchment  with  the  pen.  The  early  Latin  scribes  held  their 
stiff-nibbed  reed  pens  almost  directly  upright  and  at  right 
angles  to  the  writing  surface,  so  that  a  down  stroke  from  left 
to  right  and  slanted  at  an  angle  of  about  forty-five  degrees 
would  bring  the  nib  across  the  surface  broadwise,  resulting 
in  the  widest  line  possible  to  the  pen.  On  the  other  hand, 
a  stroke  drawn  at  right  angles  to  this,  the  pen  being  still 
held  upright,  would  be  made  with  the  thin  edge  of  the  nib, 
and  would  result  in  the  narrowest  possible  line.  From 
this  method  of  handling  the  pen  the  variations  of  line  width 
in  the  standard  Roman  forms  arose ;  and  we  may  therefore 
deduce  three  logical  rules,  based  upon  pen  use,  which  will 
determine  the  proper  distribution  of  the  thick  and  thin  lines  : 

i,  Never  accent  horizontal  lines,  n,  Always  accent  the 
sloping  down  strokes  which  run  from  left  to  right,  includ- 
ing the  so-called  "  swash  "  lines,  or  flying  tails,  of  Q^and  R  ; 
but  never  weight  those  which,  contrariwise,  slope  up  from 
left  to  right,  with  a  single  exception  in  the  case  of  the  letter 
z,  in  which,  if  rule  I  be  followed,  the  sloping  line  (in  this 
case  made  with  a  down  stroke)  will  be  the  only  one  possible 
to  accent,  in,  Always  accent  the  directly  perpendicular 
lines,  except  in  the  N,  where  these  lines  seem  originally  to 
have  been  made  with  an  up  stroke  of  the  pen ;  and  the  first 
line  of  the  M,  where  the  perpendiculars  originally  sloped  in 
towards  the  top  of  the  letter  (see  2).  On  the  round  letters 


ROMAN     CAPITALS  3 

the  accents  should  occur  at  the  sides  of  the  circle,  as 
virtually  provided  in  rule  m,  or  on  the  upper  right  and 
lower  left  quarters  (see  1-2),  where  in  pen-drawn  letters  the 
accent  of  the  down  sloping  stroke  would  naturally  occur, 
as  virtually  determined  in  rule  II. 

The  "serif" — a  cross-stroke  or  tick  —  finishes  the  free 
ends  of  all  lines  used  in  making  a  Roman  capital.  The 
value  of  the  serif  in  stone-cut  letters  seems  obvious.  To 
define  the  end  of  a  free  line  a  sharp  cut  was  made  across  it 
with  the  chisel,  and  as  the  chisel  was  usually  wider  than 
the  thin  line  this  cut  extended  beyond  it.  Serifs  were 
added  to  the  ends  of  the  thick  lines  either  for  the  sake  of 
uniformity,  or  may  have  been  suggested  by  the  chisel- 
marked  guide  lines  themselves.  Indeed  in  late  stone-cut 
Roman  work  the  scratched  guide  lines  along  the  top  and 
bottom  of  each  line  of  the  inscription  are  distinctly  marked 
and  merge  into  the  serifs,  which  extend  farther  than  in 
earlier  examples.  The  serif  was  adopted  in  pen  letters 
probably  from  the  same  reasons  that  caused  it  to  be  added 
to  the  stone-cut  letters,  namely,  that  it  definitely  finished 
the  free  lines  and  enhanced  the  general  squareness  and 
finish  of  the  letter's  aspect. 

An  excellent  model  for  constructing  the  Roman  capitals 
in  a  standard  form  will  be  found  in  the  beautiful  adaptation 
by  Mr.  A.  R.  Ross,  i  and  2,  from  an  alphabet  of  capitals 
drawn  by  Sebastian  Serlio,  an  Italian  architect,  engraver  and 
painter  of  the  sixteenth  century,  who  devised  some  of  the 
most  refined  variants  of  the  classic  Roman  letter.  Serlio's 
original  forms,  which  are  shown  in  39  and  40,  were 
intended  for  pen  or  printed  use ;  but  in  altering  Serlio's 
scheme  of  proportions  it  will  be  observed  that  Mr.  Ross 


ROMAN     CAPITALS 


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ROMAN     CAPITALS 


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2.  ALPHABET  ABATER  SERLIO  RECONSTRUCTED  BY  ALBERT  R.  ROSS 


6  ROMAN     CAPITALS 

has  partially  adapted  the  letter  for  use  in  stone,  and  has 
further  varied  it  in  details,  notably  in  serif  treatment.  In 
most  modern  stone-cut  letters,  however,  the  thin  strokes 
would  be  made  even  wider  than  in  this  example,  as  in  14. 
Mr.  Ross's  adaptation  shows  excellently  how  far  the  classic 
letters  do  or  do  not  fill  out  the  theoretical  square. 

Width  proportions,  which  may  be  found  useful  in  laying 
out  lettering  for  lines  of  a  given  length,  are  shown  in  3  in 
a  more  modern  style  of  the  Roman  capital.  In  the  classic 
Roman  letter  the  cross-bar  is  usually  in  the  exact  center  of 
the  letter  height,  but  in  3  the  center  line  has  been  used  as 
the  bottom  of  the  cross-bar  in  B,  E,  H,  p,  and  R,  and  as  the 
top  of  the  cross-bar  in  A  j  and  in  letters  like  K,  Y  and  x  the 
"  waist  lines,"  as  the  meeting  points  of  the  sloping  lines  are 
sometimes  called,  have  been  slightly  raised  to  obtain  a 
more  pleasant  effect. 

The  Roman  alphabet,  although  the  one  most  in  use,  is 
unfortunately  the  most  difficult  to  compose  into  words 
artistically,  as  the  spacing  between  the  letters  plays  a  great 
share  in  the  'result.  The  effect  of  even  color  over  a  whole 
panel  is  obtained  by  keeping  as  nearly  as  possible  the  same 
area  of  white  between  each  letter  and  its  neighbor ;  but  the 
shape  of  this  area  will  be  determined  in  every  case  by  the 
letters  which  happen  to  be  juxtaposed.  Individual  letters 
may,  however,  be  widened  or  condensed  to  help  fill  an 
awkward  "hole"  in  a  line  of  lettering;  —  the  lower  lobe 
of  the  B  may  be  extended,  the  center  bar  of  the  E  pulled 
out  (in  which  case  the  F  should  be  made  to  correspond), 
the  lower  slant  stroke  of  the  K.  may  be  used  as  a  swash 
tail,  and  the  R  may  have  its  tail  extended  or  drawn  closely 
back  against  the  upright  line,  and  so  on.  Indeed,  each  and 


ROMAN     CAPITALS 


PROPORTIONAL -WIDTH -JIACING  •  OF - 
MODERN -ROMAN  CAPITAL-  LETTER/- 


3.    WIDTH  PROPORTIONS  OF  MODERN  ROMAN  CAPITALS          F.C.B. 


8  ROMAN     CAPITALS 

every  letter  of  the  alphabet  is  susceptible  to  such  similar 
modifications  in  shape  as  may  make  it  best  suit  the  space 
left  for  it  by  its  neighbors.  Observe,  for  example,  the 
spacing  of  the  word  MERITAE  in  34,  and  notice  how  the 
tail  of  the  R  is  lengthened  to  hold  off  the  I  because  the  T 
on  the  other  side  is  perforce  held  away  by  its  top.  In  the 
page  of  capitals,  124,  by  Mr.  Bridwell,  see  also  how  the 
different  spacing  of  the  word  FRENCH  in  the  first  and  second 
lines  is  managed.  In  the  advertisement,  123,  also  by  Mr. 
Bridwell,  note  how  the  letters  are  spaced  close  or  wide  in 
order  to  produce  a  definite  effect.  The  whole  problem  of 
spacing  is,  however,  one  of  such  subtle  interrelation  and 
composition,  that  it  can  only  be  satisfactorily  solved  by 
the  artistic  sense  of  the  designer.  Any  rules  which  might 
be  here  formulated  would  prove  more  often  a  drawback 
than  a  help. 

Certain  optical  illusions  of  some  of  the  Roman  letter 
forms  should  be  briefly  mentioned.  These  illusions  are 
caused  by  the  failure  of  certain  letters  to  impinge  squarely 
with  determining  serifs  against  the  demarking  top  and  bot- 
tom guide  lines.  The  round  letters  c,  G,  o  and  Q^  often 
seem  to  be  shorter  and  smaller  than  the  other  characters 
in  a  word  unless  the  outsides  of  their  curves  run  both 
above  and  below  the  guide  lines.  For  the  same  reason  s 
should  be  sometimes  slightly  increased  in  height,  though  in 
this  case  the  narrowness  of  the  letter  makes  less  increase 
necessary;  and  j,  on  account  of  its  kern,  is  governed  by  the 
same  conditions  as  s,  save  when  letters  with  distinct  serifs 
come  closely  against  it  at  the  bottom.  Theoretically  the 
right  side  of  D  would  require  similar  treatment,  but  actually 
this  is  seldom  found  necessary.  The  pointed  ends  of 


ROMAN     CAPITALS  9 

the  letters  v  and  w  should,  for  similar  optical  reasons, 
be  extended  slightly  below  the  bottom  guide  lines,  the 
amount  of  this  extension  being  determined  by  the  letters 
on  each  side  of  them.  In  the  A,  the  Roman  letterer  at 
first  got  over  the  optical  difficulty  caused  by  its  pointed  top 
by  running  this  letter  also  higher  than  its  neighbors;  but 
he  later  solved  the  problem  by  shaping  its  apex  as  shown 
in  i,  thus  apparently  getting  the  letter  into  line  with  its 
companions  while  still  obtaining  a  sufficient  width  of  top 
to  satisfy  the  eye.  Because  of  its  narrowness,  I  should 
generally  be  allowed  more  proportionate  white  space  on 
either  side  of  it  than  the  wider  letters. 

Some  idea  of  the  proportionate  variations  required  to 
counteract  the  optical  illusions  of  the  letters  above  named 
may  be  obtained  from  the  practice  of  type-founders.  In 
making  the  designs  for  a  fount  of  type,  it  has  been  customary 
to  first  draw  each  letter  at  a  very  large  size.  Taking  an 
arbitrary  height  of  twelve  inches  as  a  standard,  the  points 
of  A  and  v  were  made  to  extend  about  three-quarters  of  an 
inch  above  or  below  the  guides,  the  letter  o  was  run  over 
about  half  an  inch  at  both  top  and  bottom,  and  the  points 
of  the  w  were  made  to  project  about  the  same  distance.  In 
pen  lettering,  however,  it  is  possible  and  preferable  to 
adapt  each  letter  more  perfectly  to  its  individual  surround- 
ings by  judgment  of  the  eye  than  to  rely  upon  any  hard 
and  fast  rules. 

Certain  variations  between  the  stone-cut  forms  of  the 
Roman  letters  and  their  forms  as  drawn  or  printed  should 
be  understood  before  an  intelligent  adaptation  of  stone 
forms  to  drawn  forms,  or  the  opposite,  is  possible.  When 
drawn  or  printed  a  character  is  seen  in  black  against  a 


10 


ROMAN     CAPITALS 


white  ground  with  no  illusory  alterations  of  its  line  widths 
caused  by  varying  shadows.  In  stone-cut  letters,  on  the 
other  hand,  where  the  shadows  rather  than  the  outlines 
themselves  reveal  the  forms,  different  limitations  govern 
the  problem.  The  thin  lines  of  a  letter  to  be  v-sunk 


4.    DRAWING  FOR  INCISED  ROMAN  CAPITALS  IN  GRANITE      F.C.B. 

should  generally  be  made  slightly  thicker  in  proportion  to 
the  wide  lines  than  is  the  case  with  the  pen-drawn  letter, 
especially  as  the  section  is  likely  to  be  less  deeply  and 
sharply  cut  nowadays  than  in  the  ancient  examples,  for  the 
workmanship  of  to-day  seems  to  be  less  perfect  and  the 
materials  used  more  friable.  A  slight  direct  sinkage  before 
beginning  to  cut  the  v-sunk  section  is  a  useful  method  of 


ROMAN     CAPITALS  11 

partially  atoning  for  modern  shallow  cutting,  as  shadows 
more  directly  defining  the  outlines  are  thus  obtained.  The 
student  should,  however,  be  warned  at  the  outset  that  all 


5.   PHOTOGRAPH  FROM  INCISED  ROMAN  CAPITALS  SHOWN  IN  4 

reproductions  or  tracings  from  rubbings  of  ancient  stone-cut 
letters  are  apt  to  be  more  or  less  deceptive,  as  all  the  acci- 
dental variations  of  the  outlines  are  exaggerated,  and  where 
the  stone  of  the  original  has  been  chipped  or  worn  away 
it  appears  in  the  reproduction  as  though  the  letter  had 
been  actually  so  cut. 

The  photograph  of  a  panel  of  lettering  from  the  upper 
part  of  the  Arch  of  Constantine,  Rome,  shown  in  6,  well 
indicates  the  effect  of  shadows  in  defining  the  classic  Roman 
letters  ;  and  the  effect  of  shadows  on  an  incised  letter  may  be 
clearly  observed  by  comparing  4  and  5,  the  former  show- 
ing a  drawing  for  an  inscription  in  which  the  Serlio-Ross 


ROMAN     CAPITALS  13 


YBCDE 

Ff^ 
m 
VJ 

LMNOP 
QRSTV 

X" 


7.   MODEL  FOR  INCISED  ROMAN  CAPITALS      McKIM,  MEAD  &  WHITE 


14 


ROMAN     CAPITALS 


alphabet  was  used  as  a  basis  for  the  letter  forms,  and  the 
latter  being  a  photograph  of  the  same  inscription,  as  cut  in 
granite.  It  will  be  noted  how  much  narrower  the  thin 


- 


8.  ROMAN  INCISED  CAPITALS 


FROM  A  RUBBING 


lines  appear  when  defined  only  by  shadow  than  in  the 
drawing.  The  model  used  for  the  lettering  on  the  frieze  of 
the  Boston  Public  Library,  7,  which  shows  some  interest- 
ing modern  forms  intended  for  cutting  in  granite,  should  be 
studied  for  the  effect  of  the  cast  shadows;  while  14,  a 
redrawing  of  inscriptions  on  the  Harvard  Architectural 
Building,  Cambridge,  Mass.,  exhibits  an  excellent  type  of 
letter  with  widened  thin  lines  for  v-cutting  in  sandstone. 

The  special  requirements  of  the  stone-cut  forms  for  either 
incised  or  raised  inscriptions  are,  however,  quite  apart  from 
the  subject  of  this  book,  and  are  too  various  to  be  taken  up 
in  greater  detail  here.  It  is  important,  nevertheless,  that 
the  designer  should  be  reminded  always  to  make  allowance 
for  the  material  in  which  a  letter  was  originally  executed. 
Otherwise,  if  exactly  copied  in  other  materials,  he  may  find 
the  result  annbyingly  unsatisfactory. 


ROMAN     CAPITALS  15 

The  examples  of  letters  taken  from  Roman  and  Renais- 
sance Italian  monuments,  shown  in  the  pages  of  this 
chapter,  will  illustrate  the  variety  of  individual  letter  forms 


vT 
ANNAE/-       L-StATiAF 

il TN  A  E    - 

rAPOLT-F-Vi 
rR-i  <\ETI  ETATTia   -MB 

9.  ROMAN  INCISED  INSCRIPTION  BOLOGNA 

used  by  the  Classic  and  Renaissance  designers.  The" 
shape  of  the  same  letter  will  often  be  found  to  vary  in 
the  same  inscription  and  even  in  apparently  analogous 

:TREB!VStF10NGVSs 

VETFR  A  NVS- COHORTS 
SECVNI 


10.  ROMA/N  INCISED  INSCRIPTION  BOLOGNA 

cases.     The   designers  evidently  had   in  mind  more  than 
the  directly  adjacent  words,  and  sometimes  even  considered 


16 


ROMAN     CAPITALS 


the  relation  of  their  lettering  to  objects  outside  the  panel 
altogether.  This  is  especially  true  in  the  work  of  the 
Italian  Renaissance,  which  is  almost  invariably  admirable 
in  both  composition  and  arrangement. 


11.  DETAIL  FROM  A  ROMAN  INCISED  INSCRIPTION     F.C.B. 

Figures  8  to  22  show  examples,  drawn  from  various 
sources,  which  exhibit  different  treatments  of  the  classic 
Roman  letter  forms.  The  differentiation  will  be  found  to 


fiMKEDfM 


12.  ROMAN  CAPITALS  OF  PEN  FORMS  CUT  IN  STONE     F.C.B. 

lie  largely  in  the  widths  of  the  letters  themselves,  and  in  the 
treatment  of  the  serifs,  angles,  and  varying  widths  of  line. 
P'igures  II  to  13  and  i6to  22  are  redrawn  from  rubbings 


ROMAN     CAPITALS 


17 


of  Roman  incised  inscriptions.  Figures  16  and  17  show 
beautifully  proportioned  letters  cut  in  marble  with  unusual 
care  and  refinement,  considering  the  large  size  of  the  orig- 
inals. A  later  Roman  form  of  less  refinement  but  of  greater 


13.  ROMAN  CAPITALS  FROM  INSCRIPTIONS    FROM  RUBBINGS.  F.C.B. 

strength  and  carrying  power,  and  for  that  reason  better 
adapted  to  many  modern  uses,  is  shown  in  1 8  and  19. 
In  this  case  the  original  letters  were  cut  about  seven  and 


20  ROMAN     CAPITALS 


16.  CLASSIC  CAPITALS  CUT  IN  MARBLE          ROMAN  FORUM.    F.C.B. 


ROMAN     CAPITALS  21 


17.  CLASSIC  CAPITALS  CUT  IN  MARBLE          ROMAN  FORUM.    F.  C.  B. 


22  ROMAN     CAPITALS 


18.  CLASSIC  CAPITALS  CUT  IN  MARBLE        FROM  RUBBINGS.    F.C.B. 


ROMAN     CAPITALS  23 


19.  CLASSIC  CAPITALS  CUT  IN  MARBLE        FROM  RUBBINGS.   F.C.B. 


ROMAN     CAPITALS  27 

one-half  inches  high.  The  letters  in  20  are  curiously 
modern  in  character.  Part  of  the  panel  of  Roman  letter- 
ing shown  in  21  exhibits  the  use  of  a  form  very  like  that 
shown  in  1 8  and  19.  Figure  II  shows  a  detail  composed 
in  a  quite  representative  fashion;  while  on  the  other  hand 
figure  1 2  depicts  a  Roman  letter  of  quite  unusual  character, 
and  of  a  form  evidently  adapted  from  pen  work,  in  which 
the  shapes  are  narrow  and  crowded,  while  the  lines  are 
thickened  as  though  they  were  of  the  classical  square  out- 
line. The  bits  of  old  Roman  inscriptions  shown  in  8  to  I  o 
and  in  1 3  are  included  to  exhibit  various  different  forms 
and  treatments  of  classic  capitals. 

After  the  fall  of  Rome  and  during  the  Dark  Ages  the 
practice  of  lettering,  at  least  in  so  far  as  the  Roman  form 
was  concerned,  was  distinctly  retrograde.  With  the  advent 
of  the  Renaissance,  however,  the  purest  classic  forms  were 
revived;  and  indeed  the  Italian  Renaissance  seems  to  have 
been  the  golden  age  of  lettering.  With  the  old  Roman 
fragments  of  the  best  period  constantly  before  their  eyes 
the  Renaissance  artists  of  Italy  seem  to  have  grasped  the 
true  spirit  of  classicism ;  and  their  work  somehow  acquired 
a  refinement  and  delicacy  lacking  in  even  the  best  of  the 
Roman  examples.  As  much  of  the  Italian  Renaissance 
lettering  was  intended  for  use  on  tombs  or  monuments 
where  it  might  be  seen  at  close  range,  and  was  cut  in  fine 
marble,  the  increased  refinement  may  be  due,  at  least  in 
part,  to  different  conditions. 

The  panel  from  Raphael's  tomb  in  the  Pantheon,  Rome, 
30,  shows  a  beautiful  and  pure  form  of  typical  Renaissance 
letter;  and  the  composition  of  the  panel  is  as  well  worthy 


28 


ROMAN     CAPITALS 


of  careful  study  as  are  the  letter  forms.  Figure  34,  devised 
from  a  tomb  in  Santa  Croce,  portrays  a  letter  not  only 
beautiful  in  itself,  but  one  which,  with  two  minor  changes 
(for  the  top  bar  of  the  T  might  advantageously  be  shortened 


CRISTQPHOR' 

VRVS  PRINi 


23.   ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  INSCRIPTION 


IN  MARBLE 


to  allow  its  neighbors  to  set  closer,  and  the  M  might  be 
finished  at  the  top  with  a  serif,  after  the  usual  fashion),  is 
exactly  applicable  to  the  purposes  of  the  modern  draughts- 
man. This  type  of  letter  appears  to  best  advantage  when 
used  in  such  panel  forms  as  those  shown  in  the  rubbing 
from  the  Marsuppini  tomb,  31,  and  in  the  floor  slab  from 
the  same  church,  32.  Two  very  refined  examples,  28  and 
29,  also  from  slabs  in  Santa  Croce,  Florence,  date  from 
about  the  same  period.  The  latter  exhibits  the  alphabet 
itself,  and  the  former  shows  a  similar  letter  form  as  actually 
used.  The  letters  in  33,  redrawn  from  rubbings  from  the 
,  Marsuppini  tomb,  are  shown  for  comparison  with  the  rub- 
bing itself,  which  is  reproduced  in  smaller  size  in  31. 
Taken  together,  plates  30,  31  and  32  will  fairly  represent 
not  only  the  usual  fashion  of  composing  Renaissance  panels, 
but  capital  forms  which  illustrate  some  of  the  most  excellent 
work  of  this  period. 


30 


ROMAN     CAPITALS 


A  very  different  and  interesting  type  of  letter  was  used  on 
many  of  the  best  medals  of  the  Italian  Renaissance  (see  24), 
which  has  been  recently  adapted  and  employed  by  modern 
medal  designers  in  France,  as  exhibited  in  figure  25. 
Although  absolutely  plain,  it  is,  when  properly  composed, 
much  more  effective  in  the  service  for  which  it  was  intended 


26.  CAPITALS  ADAPTED  FROM  RENAISSANCE  MEDALS      F.  C.  B. 

than  a  more  elaborate  and  fussy  form ;  and  although 
sometimes  adapted  with  good  results  to  other  uses,  it  is 
particularly  appropriate  for  casting  in  metal.  Similar  forms 
rendered  in  pen  and  ink  are  shown  in  26. 

Figures  27,  and  35  to  41  show  various  pen  or  printed 
forms  of  capital  letters  redrawn  from  the  handiwork  of 
Renaissance  masters.  The  capital  letters  shown  in  27  are 
unusually  beautiful,  and  their  purity  of  form  is  well  dis- 


ROMAN     CAPITALS 


31 


played  in  the  outline  treatment.  Perhaps  the  best  known 
standard  example  of  a  Renaissance  pen-drawn  letter  is  that 
by  Tagliente,  reproduced  in  35  and  36.  In  spite  of  their 
familiarity  it  has  seemed  impossible  to  omit  the  set  of  capi- 


27.  SPANISH  RENAISSANCE  ALPHABET      JUAN  DEVCIAR,  1550 

tals,  with  variants,  by  Albrecht  Diirer,  37  and  38;  for 
Durer's  letters  were  taken  as  a  basis  by  nearly  all  such 
Renaissance  designers  of  lettering  as  Geoffrey  Tory,  Leon- 
ardo da  Vinci,  etc.  It  should  be  observed  in  the  Diirer 


32  ROMAN     CAPITALS 

alphabet  that  among  the  variant  forms  of  individual  letter; 
shown,  one  is  usually  intended  for  monumental  use,  while 
another  exhibits  pen  treatment  in  the  characteristic  swelling 
of  the  round  letters  etc. 


28.  RENAISSANCE  INLAID  MEDALLION       FROM  A  RUBBING.    F.C.B 

Serlio's  alphabet,  39  and  40,  should  be  compared  with 
Mr.  Ross's  modification  of  it,  reproduced  in  I  and  2.  The 
alphabet  shown  in  41  is  a  somewhat  expanded  form  oi 
classic  capital,  contrasting  markedly  in  various  respects  with 
more  typical  forms. 


ROMAN     CAPITALS  33 


ALZONE 
BCDEFG 

HIKLMPR 
STQVFf 

FILIPPOX 


29.   ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  CAPITALS  SANTA  CROCK.    F.C.  B. 


,. 


36  ROMAN     CAPITALS 

ITALIAN  BJE 

NAISSANCE 

LETTERING 

ABCDEFGH 
UKLMNOP 
Q&STUW 
VXY  POLVS 
QYE  EKAT  Z 

33.   ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  CAPITALS       MARSUPPINI  TOMB.  F.C.  B. 


ROMAN     CAPITALS  37 


ITALIAN 
LETTERS 

MERITXE 
ABCDLFG 
HIJKLMN 
OPQRSTU 
VZWXY 


34.    ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  CAPITALS  FROM  RUBBINGS.  F.  C.  B. 


38 


ROMAN     CAPITALS 


35.  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  CAPITALS     G.  A.  TAGLIENTE,  1524 


ROMAN     C  A  PITALS 


39 


36.   ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  CAPITALS          G.  A.  TAGLIENTE,  1634 


40  ROMAN     CAPITALS 


AABBB 


DEEPG 

GHIKK 
KLLMM 


37.   GERMAN  RENAISSANCE  CAPITALS  ALBRECHT  DURER,  1525 


ROMAN     CAPITALS  41 


NNNO 
PPPRR 


TTTVX 
XYYZZ 


88.   GERMAN  RENAISSANCE  CAPITALS  ALBRECHT  DURER.  1526 


42  ROMAN     CAPITALS 

ABC 
GHI 


rvw 


39.  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  CAPITALS  SERLIO,  16th  CENTURY 


ROMAN     CAPITALS  43 

DEF 
ICLM 
QRS 
XYZ 


40.    ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  CAPITALS  SBRLIO,  16th  CENTURY 


44 


ROMAN     CAPITALS 


ISM 


41.  GERMAN  RENAISSANCE  CAPITALS     URBAIN  WYSS.  16th  CENTURY 


ROMAN     CAPITALS 


45 


A  practically  unlimited  number  of  other  examples  might 
have  been  included  to  show  various  capital  forms  of  Renais- 
sance letters;  but  the  specimens  chosen  will  adequately 
illustrate  all  the  more  distinctive  and  refined  types  of  the 
individual  letters. 

Before,  during  and  after  the  Renaissance  movement  many 
local  and  extraneous  influences  temporarily  modified  the 
forms  of  the  Roman  letters.  There  are,  for  instance, 
numerous  examples  of  lettering  in  which  Byzantine  and 
Romanesque  traits  are  strongly  apparent,  such  as  the  free 
manipulation  of  the  letter  forms  in  order  to  make  them  fit 
into  given  lines  and  spaces.  The  drawing  of  the  panel  over 
the  doorway  of  the  Badia,  Florence,  42,  notable  for  the  char- 
acteristic placing  and  composition  of  the  letters,  will  serve  as 
a  case  in  point.  This  example  is  further  interesting  because 
it  shows  how  the  Uncial  form  of  the  letter  was  beginning  to 
react  and  find  a  use  in  stone  —  a  state  of  affairs  which  at 


^MSm^fl^WAmSwawSs 

*M» 


42.  ITALIAN  RENAISSANCE  PANEL,  FLORENCE      C.  F.  BRAGDON 

first  glance  might  seem  anomalous,  for  the  Uncial  letter  was 
distinctly  a  pen-drawn  form;  but  it  was  discovered  that 
its  rounder  forms  made  it  particularly  useful  for  inscribing 
stones  which  were  likely  to  chip  or  sliver,  in  carving  which 
it  was  consequently  desirable  to  avoid  too  acute  angles. 
The  Roman  letter  underwent  various  salient  modifications 


46 


ROMAN     CAPITALS 


at  the  hands  of  the  scribes  of  extra-Italian  nations.  We 
find  very  crude  variants  of  the  Roman  letter,  dating  hun- 
dreds of  years  after  the  Roman  form  had  reached  its  highest 


TDE 


RIC5ARD-DOYEY 

43.   MODERN  TITLE  (Compare  46)  B.  G.  GOODHUE 

development ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  some  very  beautiful 
and  individual  national  variants  were  produced.  The  con- 
tinual interchange  of  manuscripts  among  the  nations  on  the 
continent  of  Europe  probably  explains  the  more  conven- 
tional character  and  strong  general  resemblance  of  most  of 
the  early  Continental  work ;  but  the  scribes  of  insular  Eng- 
land, less  influenced  by  contemporary  progress  and  exam- 
ples, produced  forms  of  greater  individuality  (see  46,  47, 


44.   MODERN  TITLE  (Compare  49) 


WALTER  CRANE 


48).  In  Ireland,  letter  forms  originally  derived  from  early 
Roman  models  were  developed  through  many  decades  with 
no  ulterior  influences,  and  resulted  in  some  wonderfully 
distinctive  and  beautiful  variations  of  the  Roman  letters, 


ROMAN     CAPITALS  47 

though  the  beauty  of  these  Irish  examples  can  only  be 
faintly  suggested  by  reproductions  limited  to  black  and 
white,  and  without  the  decorations  of  the  originals. 

Figures  43  and  44  illustrate,  respectively,  modern  employ- 
ments of  such  strongly  characteristic  letters  as  those  shown 

HRcnrfecTURe 
craeFLY:seLecTeo 

FROMiGXKMPLeS 

oF:The:i2rHNo:i3? 
ceNTURies:iN: 


45.  TITLE  IN  EARLY  ENGLISH  CAPITALS       W.  E.  NESFIELD 

in  46  and  49.  From  these  ancient  examples  the  designers 
have  evolved  letters  suitable  to  the  character  of  their  work. 
In  44  Mr.  Crane  has  engrafted  upon  a  form  quite  per- 
sonal to  himself  a  characteristic  detail  of  treatment  borrowed 
from  the  letter  shown  in  49.  Figure  45  shows  a  similar 
and  modernized  employment  of  a  standard  form  of  Uncial 
capital. 


48  ROMAN     CAPITALS 


46.   ANGLO-SAXON  CAPITALS 


6th  CENTURY 


ROMAN     CAPITALS 


49 


s-bteo 


ufiuwnw 


47.   ANGLO-SAXON  CAPITALS 


7th  CENTURY 


60  ROMAN     CAPITALS 


CDOGFE 


LCDMNN 


48.   ANGLO-SAXON  CAPITALS  EARLY  10th  CENTURY 


ROMAN     CAPITALS  51 


•A*       \^-x     dflu  «A»  «A*   «A»  .A. 


QRSTU 
V(fiXF2 


49.    EARLY  ENGLISH  CAPITALS  16th  CENTURY 


CHAPTER     II 

MODERN    ROMAN    LETTERS 

The  small  or  "  minuscule "  letter  that  we  now  use  in  all 
printed  books  attained  its  modern  and  definitive  form  only 
after  the  invention  of  printing.  The  first  printed  books 
were  made  to  imitate,  as  closely  as  possible,  the  hand- 
written work  of  the  scribes  of  the  early  fifteenth  century,  and 
as  printing  was  first  done  in  Germany,  the  earliest  book  types 
were  those  modeled  upon  German  scripts,  somewhat  similar 
to  that  shown  in  141,  and  their  condensed  or  blackletter 
variants.  The  Italian  printers,  of  a  more  classical  taste, 
found  the  German  types  somewhat  black  and  clumsy;  for 
though  Gothic  characters  were  also  used  in  Italy,  they  had 
become  lighter  and  more  refined  there.  The  Italians, 
therefore,  evolved  a  new  form  of  type  letter,  based  upon 
the  Italian  pen  letters  then  in  use,  which  though  fundamen- 
tally Gothic  in  form  had  been  refined  by  amalgamation  with 
an  earlier  letter  known  as  the  "  Caroline,"  from  its  origin 
under  the  direction  of  Charlemagne.  The  "  Caroline " 
was  in  its  turn  an  imitation  of  the  Roman  "  Half-uncial." 
The  close  relationship  of  the  first  small  type  letter  forms 
in  Italy  with  the  current  writing  hand  of  the  best  Italian 
scribes  is  well  indicated  by  the  legend  that  the  "  Italic,"  or 
sloped  small  letter,  was  taken  directly  from  the  handwriting 
of  Petrarch.  The  new  Italian  types,  in  which  classic  cap- 
itals were  combined  with  the  newly  evolved  minuscule 


MODERN     ROMAN    LETTERS  53 

letters,  were  called  "  Roman  "  from  the  city  of  their  origin, 
and  sprang  into  almost  immediate  popularity,  spreading 
from  Italy  into  England,  France  and  Spain.  In  Germany, 
on  the  other  hand,  the  national  blackletter  form  persisted, 
and  is  still  in  use  to-day. 

The  minuscule  "  Roman "  letters  thus  evolved  were 
developed  to  their  most  perfect  individual  forms  by  the 
master-printers  of  Venice ;  and  it  is  to  the  models  which 
they  produced  that  we  must  revert  to-day  when  we  attempt 
to  devise  or  reproduce  an  elegant  small  letter  of  any  con- 
servative form.  The  modern  pen  draughtsman  should  bear 
in  mind,  however,  that,  perfect  as  such  forms  of  letters  may 
be  for  the  uses  of  the  printer,  the  limitations  of  type  have 
necessarily  curtailed  the  freedom  and  variety  of  their  serif 
and  swash  lines,  and  that  therefore,  though  accepting  their 
basic  forms,  he  need  not  be  cramped  by  their  restrictions, 
nor  imitate  the  unalterable  and  sometimes  awkwardly  inar- 
tistic relations  of  letter  to  letter  for  which  he  finds  precedents 
in  the  printed  page.  Indeed,  the  same  general  rules  for 
spacing  and  the  same  freedom  in  the  treatment  of  the  serifs, 
kerns  and  swash  lines  are  quite  as  applicable  to  pen-drawn 
small  letters  as  to  the  capital  forms.  The  only  true  path  of 
progress  lies  in  this  freedom  of  treatment ;  and  if  the  same 
fertile  artists  of  the  Renaissance  who  have  bequeathed  to  us 
such  beautiful  examples  of  their  unfettered  use  of  the  capital 
had  used  the  minuscule  also,  we  should  undoubtedly  possess 
small  letters  of  far  more  graceful  and  adaptable  forms  than 
those  which  we  now  have. 

In  50  and  51  may  be  found  an  attempt  to  formulate  a 
scheme  to  assist  in  the  reconstruction  of  an  alphabet  of 
Roman  small  letters,  after  somewhat  the  same  fashion  as 


56  MODERN     ROMAN    LETTERS 

that  devised  for  the  Roman  capitals  by  Mr.  Ross,  in  i  and  2. 
A  small-letter  diagram  must,  for  obvious  reasons,  be  less 
exact  and  detailed  than  one  for  the  more  defined  capital 
form;  but  the  diagram  given  will  serve  to  determine  suffi- 
ciently the  main  outlines  and  proportions.  In  their  shapes 
the  letters  shown  in  50  and  51  adhere  fairly  closely  to  the 
best  type  forms  of  the  small  letter;  and  the  drawing  will 
serve,  further,  to  show  the  space  generally  allowed  by 
modern  founders  between  one  lower-case  letter  and  another 
when  set  into  type  words.  This  spacing  is  based  on  the  m 
of  the  fount  employed.  The  open  space  between  all  but 
k,  w  and  y  (in  which  the  outlines  of  the  letters  themselves 
hold  them  further  away  from  their  neighbors)  and  the 
round  letters  being  the  space  between  the  upright  strokes 
of  the  m ;  an  interval  represented  in  the  diagram  by  a 
square  and  a  half.  The  round  letters,  as  has  already  been 
said  in  speaking  of  the  capital  forms,  should  be  spaced 
nearer  together;  and  it  will  be  observed  that  they  are  only 
separated  by  one  square  in  the  diagram.  Although  sugges- 
tive, the  rules  which  govern  the  spacing  of  types  are  not 
to  be  blindly  followed  by  the  pen  letterer.  In  type,  for 
instance,  it  would  be  impossible,  for  mechanical  reasons,  to 
allow  the  kerns  of  the  f,  j  and  y  to  project  far  over  the  body 
of  the  next  letter,  and  in  these  letters  the  kerns  conse- 
quently have  either  to  be  restrained  or  the  letters  spaced 
farther  apart.  In  pen  lettering,  however,  the  designer  is  not 
restrained  by  such  limitations,  and  his  spacing  of  letters 
should  be  governed  solely  by  the  effect. 

The  disposition  of  the  accented  lines  in  the  small  letters 
follow  the  same  general  rules  that  govern  those  of  the  capi- 
tals (see  page  2);  the  only  deviation  being  in  the  case  of 


MODERN     ROMAN    LETTERS  57 

the  g,  in  which  the  shading  of  the  bottom  seems  to  have 
been  determined  largely  by  the  effect  upon  the  eye. 

It  will  be  noticed  in  the  diagram  that  the  "  ascenders  "  of 
the  smaller  letters  rise  about  three  squares  to  their  extreme 
top  points  above  the  body  of  the  letter;  that  the  body  of 
each  letter  is  inclosed  in  a  square  that  is  three  units  high, 
and  that  the  "  descenders  "  fall  but  two  squares  below  the 
letter  body.  These  proportions  are  not  by  any  means 
invariable,  however,  and  indeed  there  is  no  fixed  rule  by 
which  the  proportions  of  ascenders  and  descenders  to  the 
body  of  the  Roman  minuscule  may  be  determined.  In 
some  forms  of  the  letter  both  are  of  the  same  length,  and 
sometimes  that  length  is  the  same  as  the  body  height  of 
the  letter.  In  general  a  better  result  is  obtained  by 
making  both  ascenders  and  descenders  of  less  than  the 
length  of  the  body,  and  keeping  the  descenders  shorter 
than  the  ascenders  in  about  the  proportion  of  two-fifths 
to  three-fifths. 

Parallel  lines  of  small  letters  cannot  be  spaced  closer  to 
each  other  than  the  ascenders  and  descenders  will  allow; 
the  projections  above  and  below  the  line  are  awkward,  and 
interrupt  the  definite  lines  of  demarkation  at  the  top  and 
bottom  of  the  letter-bodies;  the  capitals  necessarily  used  in 
connection  with  the  small  letters  add  to  the  irregularity  of 
the  line — all  of  which  reasons  combine  to  limit  the  employ- 
ment of  minuscule  for  formal  or  monumental  uses.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  small  letter  form  is  excellently  adapted 
for  the  printed  page,  where  the  occasional  capitals  but  tend 
to  break  the  monotony,  while  the  ascenders  and  descend- 
ers strongly  characterize  and  increase  the  legibility  of  the 
letter  forms. 


68 


MODERN     ROMAN    LETTERS 


AaabbccddeefftTgghhiijll  m 

mnnooppcjcirrfffrssfttt&vv' 
u u  xxjryzz.6  a  &x$$d&  &  £$b  :-> 

ABCDEFGHIL: 

MN  o  p  CLR-s  T  V2 

<r\:  x  YZ  z,:^ 

Letra  antigua  que  dcreuia  Fmn  Lu- 
cas en  Madrid.  Ano  de.m.d.Ixxvii. 


52.  SPANISH  ROMAN  LETTERS  PEN  DRAWN 

FRANCISCO  LUCAS,  1577 


TE  D  EV  M  LAVDA 

musite  Dominum  confitemur.Tca:- 
ternum  patrem  omnis  terra  venera- 
tur.Ubi  omnes  angeli,tibi  cxlij&vn 


raphim^  in  ceflabili  voce  proclamant, 
Sanftus,  Sanftus,  Sandus  Dominus 
Deus  Sabaoth.  Pleni  funt  c^li&ter- 
ra  maielktis  glorias 


53.  SPANISH  ROMAN  LETTERS  PEN  DRAWN 

FRANCISCO  LUCAS,  1577 


MODERN     ROMAN    LETTERS  59 


<iAaa,  Ibccdd  ttffggkh  iij  llmmnnoop 


Gft 
2V  0 

TTWOCX^YZZ 

Letra  del&rifi  que  cfcrettia  *Fran,  Luca 

~ 


.  LXXVIL 


64.   SPANISH -ITALIC  LETTERS  PEN  DRAWN 

FRANCISCO  LUCAS,  1577 


R,IN  CT  P  I  O  E- 

,  Gf'vcrbwn  eratapud1)cum$ 
ZDeus  emt  vtrbum  Hoc  emt  injprincipio  a- 
pud  T)eum:  Omnidperipfumjaftajunt, 
&Jlne  ipfojattumeftnibil.  Quodfaftum 
eft  iniffo'vitacrat.  &  vita  erat  lux  bomi- 
num.  &lux  in  tentbris  luctt.  &tenebn  e- 
am  non  comprebenderunt.  Tuitbomo  i 
miflusa  3)co  cui  nomen  emt  loannes.S 


66.  SPANISH  ITALIC  LETTERS  PEN  DRAWN 

FRANCISCO  LUCAS.  1577 


60  MODERN     ROMAN     LETTERS 


Aabcd 

efghijk 
i  o    * 
Imnop 

qrstuw 
vxyz 


56.    ITALIAN  SMALL  LETTERS  J.  F.  CRESCI,  15CO 


MODERN     ROMAN     LETTERS  61 


ABCDEFG 
hfijKLMNM 


SVTWXYZ 


67.  KNGLISH  17th  CENTURY  INCISED  LETTERS      FROM  TOMBSTONES 


62  MODERN     ROMAN    LETTERS 


nopqsL 

ruvxwy 

ZJ23456 

58.  MODERN  SMALL  LETTERS  AFTER  HRACHOWINA 


MODERN     ROMAN    LETTERS  63 


Venetian 


abcdefghi 
jklmnopq 
rstuvwxyz 


CO.   MODERN  SMALL  LETTERS  CLAUDE  FAYETTE  BRAGDON 


64  MODERN     ROMAN    LETTERS 

Figures  52  to  59  show  several  forms  of  small  letter 
alphabets;  those  shown  in  52  to  56  being  taken  from 
"  Writing  books  "  by  Spanish  and  Italian  writing  masters. 
These  writing  masters  often  chose  to  show  their  skill  by  imi- 
tating type  forms  of  letters  with  the  pen,  but  though  similar 
in  the  individual  forms  of  the  letters  the  written  examples 
exhibit  a  freedom  and  harmony  in  composition  impossible 
for  type  to  equal,  and  therefore  are  immeasurably  more 
interesting  to  the  modern  penman.  Figure  61  illustrates  a 
type  form  of  minuscule  which  may  be  commended  for 

study.  Other  examples  of  small 

H^re  lyeeketrle  Body  of        letters  b7  modern  designers  will 
Efizabetry  ^pife  of/lichani       be  found  in  105,  no,  118  and 


-3',  where  they  are   used   in 

no  Domij  6  G)  J  connection  with   their   capital 

forms. 

60.    INSCRIPTION    FROM    ENGLISH 

SLATE  TOMBSTONES,  1691.    F.c.B.  The  minuscule  alphabet  by 

Mr.  Claude  Fayette  Bragdon, 

59,  is  a  carefully  worked-out  form  which  in  its  lines  closely 
follows  a  type  face  devised  by  Jenson,  the  celebrated  Vene- 
tian printer  who  flourished  toward  the  end  of  the  sixteenth 
century.  This  example  together  with  those  shown  in  50,  51 
and  56  exhibits  some  conservative  variations  of  the  standard 
models  for  minuscule  letters  ;  and  the  same  may  be  said  of 
the  modern  type  faces  shown  in  62,  63  and  64.  The  various 
other  examples  of  the  small-letter  forms  illustrated  evidence 
how  original  and  interesting  modifications  of  conservative 
shapes  may  be  evolved  without  appreciable  loss  of  legibility. 
Figure  61  shows  the  capital,  small  letter  and  italic  forms 
of  a  type  based  on  old  Venetian  models,  cut  by  William 
Caslon  in  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and  ever 


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66 


MODERN     ROMAN     LETTERS 


DANTE  IS  WELCOMED  BY  HIS 
ANCESTOR,CACCIAGUIDA.  CAO 
CIAGUIDA  TELLS  OF  HIS  FAM^ 
ILY  AND  OF  THE  SIMPLE  LIFE 
OF  FLORENCE  IN  OLD  DAYS. 

CANTO  XV. 


BENIGN  will,  wherein  the 
love  which  righteously  in^ 
spires  always  manifests  itself, 
as  cupidity  does  in  the  evil 
will,  imposed  silence  on  that 
sweet  lyre,  &  quieted  the  holy  strings  which 
the  right  hand  of  heaven  slackens  &  draws 
tight.  How  unto  just  petitions  shall  those 
substances  be  deaf,  who,  in  order  to  give  me 
wish  to  pray  unto  them,  were  concordant  in 
silence?  Well  is  it  that  he  endlessly  should 
grieve  who,  for  the  love  of  thing  which  en^ 
dures  not  eternally,  despoils  him  of  that  love. 
As,  through  the  tranquil  and  pure  evening 
skies,  a  sudden  fire  shoots  from  time  to  time, 
moving  the  eyes  which  were  at  rest  &  with 


62.  MODERN  ROMAN  TYPE  "MONTAIGNE" 


BRUCE  ROGERS 


MODERN     ROMAN    LETTERS  67 

ENGLISH  PREFACE  TO  ROBERT  STEPHENS' 

APOLOGIE  FOR  HERODOTUS 

TOTHE  RIGHT  HONORABLE  LORDS 
WILLIAM,  EARLE  OF  PEMBROKE 

PHILIP,EARLEOFMONTGOMERIE 
Our  Patrons  of  Learning  &  Patterns  of  Honor 

Ight  noble  Lords :  Laertius tell- 
eth  vs,  that  in  old  time  there 
were  but  feuen  wife  men  to  be 
found  in  the  world :  but  now  it 
feemes  there  are  hardly  feuen 
ignorant.  For  a  man  can  no 
fooner  fet  faire  marke,  but  euery  bungler  will 
out  with  a  bolt  (as  though  he  could  cornicum 
oculos  configere),  and  like  Roman  Cenfor  will 
giue  his  cenfure,  though  often  no  more  to  the 
purpofe  than  Magnificat  for  Matins,  as  it  is  in 
the  French  prouerb.  We  are  now  fallen  into 
that  criticall  age  wherein  Cenfores  liberorum 
are  become  CENSORES  LIBRORUM;  Lectores, 
LICTORES :  and  euery  man's  works  and  writ- 
ings, (both  prime  inuentions  and  fecond-hand 
tranflations)  are  arraigned  at  the  tribunall  of 
each  pedantical  Ariftarchus  vnderftanding. 

The  World  of  Wonders,  Imprinted  for  John  Norton,  1607. 

63.   MODERN  ROMAN  TYPK  "RENNER"  THEO.  L.  DK  VINNE 


68  MODERN    ROMAN    LETTERS 

CORNELII TACITI DE  VITA  ET 
INCIPIT  FELICITER 

CLarorum  virorum  facfta 
tum,nenostrisquidem 
aetas  omisit,  quotiens 
gressaestvitium 
tiam  redti  et  invidiam. 
pronum  magisque  in 
adprodendam  virtutis 
tantum  conscientiae  pretio  ducebatur. 
potius  morum  quam  adrogantiam 
aut  obtrecftationi  fiiit:  adeo  virtutes 
facillime  gignuntur*  at  nunc  narraturo 
quam  non  petissem  incusaturus.  tarn 
cum  Aruleno  Rustico  Paetus  Thrasea, 
dati  essent,  capitale  fuisse>  neque  in  ipsos 
saevitum,  delegate  triumviris  ministerio 
in  comitio  ac  foro  urerentur .  scilicet  illo 
senatuset  conscientiam  generis  humani 
pientiae  professoribus  atque  omni  bona 
turn  occurreret,  dedimus  profecfto 

64.   MODERN  ROMAN  TYPE  "MERRYMOUNT"  BY  B.  G.  GOODHUE 


MODERN     ROMAN    LETTERS  69 

since  known  by  his  name.  This  face  has  comparatively 
recently  been  revived  by  modern  type-founders  ;  and  though 
this  revival  has  provided  us  with  a  text  letter  far  superior  to 
the  forms  previously  in  use,  the  modern  imitation  falls 
short  of  the  beauty  of  Caslon's  original,  as  may  be  seen  by 
comparing  the  letters  shown  in  61,  which  are  reproduced 
from  Caslon's  specimen-book,  issued  by  him  about  the 
middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  with  the  type  used  in 
printing  this  volume,  which  is  a  good  modern  "  Caslon." 

Figures  62  to  67  show  some  newly  devised  type  faces, 
all  designed  by  artists  of  reputation.  Figure  62  illustrates 
a  fount  called  the  "  Montaigne "  which  has  been  recently 
completed  by  Mr.  Bruce  Rogers  for  the  Riverside  Press, 
Cambridge,  Mass.,  and  cut  under  his  immediate  direction, 
with  especial  insistance  upon  an  unmechanical  treatment 
of  serifs,  etc.  As  a  result  the  "  Montaigne  "  is,  for  type, 
remarkable  in  its  artistic  freedom,  and  its  forms  are  well 
worthy  the  study  of  the  designer.  Both  its  capitals  and  small 
letters  suggest  the  purity  of  the  Italian  Renaissance  shapes. 
The  letters  space  rather  farther  apart  than  in  most  types, 
and  the  result  makes  for  legibility.  Although  several  other 
modern  faces  of  type  have  been  designed  on  much  the  same 
lines,  notably  one  for  The  Dove's  Press  in  England,  the 
u  Montaigne "  seems  the  best  of  them  all,  because  of  its 
freedom,  and  its  absolute  divorce  from  the  overdone,  exag- 
gerated, heavy-faced  effects  of  the  Morris  styles  of  type. 

Mr.  De  Vinne  of  the  De  Vinne  Press,  New  York  City, 
has  introduced  a  new  type  called  the  "  Renner ",  63, 
which  was  originally  cut  for  some  of  the  Grolier  Club's 
publications.  The  letters  were  first  photographed  from  a 
selected  page  of  Renner's  "  Quadrigesimale,"  then  care- 


70  MODERN     ROMAN    LETTERS 

MARCVS  TVLLIVS  CICERO  DE  SE- 
NECTUTE  CATO  MAJOR  CAP.  XXII 
APVDXENOPHONTEM  AVTEM  MO 
RIENS  CYRVS  MAJOR  HAEC  DICIT: 
|OLITE  arbitrari,  O  mei  carissimi 
filii,  me,  cum  a  vobis  discessero, 
nusquam  aut  nullum  fore.  Nee 
enim  dum  eram  vobiscum  ani- 
mum  meum  videbatis,  sed  eum 
esse  in  hoc  corpore  ex  iis  rebus 
quas  gerebam  intellegebatis.  Eundem  igitur  es- 
se creditote,  etiam  si  nullum  videbitis.  80.  Nee 
vero  clarorum  virorum  post  mortem  honores  per- 
manerent,  si  nihil  eorum  ipsorum  animi  effice- 
rent,  quo  diutius  memoriam  sui  teneremus.  Mihi 
quidem  persuaderi  numquam  potuit  animos  dum 
in  corporibus  essent  mortalibus  vivere,  cum  ex- 
cessissent  ex  eis  emori;  nee  vero  turn  animum 
esse  insipientem  cum  ex  insipienti  corpore  eva- 
sisset ;  sed  cum  omni  admixtione  corporis  libera- 
tus  purus  et  integer  esse  coepisset,  turn  esse 
sapientem.  Atque  etiam,  cum  hominis  natura 
morte  dissolvitur,  ceterarum  rerum  perspicuum  est 
quo  quaeque  discedat,  abeunt  enim  illuc  omnia 
unde  orta  sunt;  animus  autem  solus  nee  cum 

65.    MODERN  ROMAN  TYPE  "CHELTENHAM"  BY  B.  G.  GOODHUE 


MODERN     ROMAN     LETTERS  71 

fully  studied  and  redrawn  before  the  punches  were  cut. 
Mr.  De  Vinne  has  added  small  capitals  and  italics  to  the 
fount,  as  well  as  dotted  letters  to  serve  as  substitutes  for  the 
italic  for  those  who  prefer  them.  The  "  Renner "  type 
would  have  been  more  effective  on  a  larger  body ;  but  for 
commercial  usefulness  it  is  generally  deemed  expedient  to 
employ  as  small  a  body  as  the  face  of  a  type  will  allow. 
Mr.  De  Vinne  notes,  in  this  connection,  that  all  the  impor- 
tant types  of  the  early  printers  were  large,  and  that  a  fount 
designed  to-day  with  regard  only  to  its  artistic  effectiveness 
would  be  cast  upon  a  large  body  and  be  of  good  size. 

Mr.  Bertram  G.  Goodhue  has  designed  two  founts  of 
Roman  type,  and  is  now  at  work  on  a  Blackletter  face.  His 
first  fount,  cut  for  Mr.  D.  B.  Updike,  of  the  Merrymount 
Press,  Boston,  and  known  as  the  "  Merrymount,"  is  shown 
in  64.  Intended  for  large  pages  and  rough  paper  it  neces- 
sarily shows  to  disadvantage  in  the  example  given,  where 
the  blackness  and  weight  of  the  letters  makes  them  seem 
clumsy,  despite  the  refinement  of  their  forms. 

The  "  Cheltenham  Old  Style,"  65,  is  the  other  Roman 
face  recently  designed  by  the  same  artist.  It  was  cut  for  the 
Cheltenham  Press  of  New  York  City;  and  embodies  in  its 
present  form  many  ideas  suggested  by  Mr.  Ingalls  Kimball 
of  that  press.  Observe  especially  the  excess  in  length  of  the 
ascenders  over  the  descenders,  and  that  the  serifs  have  been 
reduced  to  the  minimum.  Contrary  to  the  usual  custom  in 
type  cutting,  the  round  letters  do  not  run  above  or  below 
the  guide  lines.  The  capitals  compose  excellently  ;  but  the 
small  letters  are  too  closely  spaced  and  seem  too  square  for 
the  best  effect,  and  weight  has  been  obtained  by  so  thicken- 
ing the  lines  that  much  delicacy  and  variety  has  been  lost. 


72 


MODERN     ROMAN     LETTERS 


The  "  Cheltenham  Old  Style "   is,  however,  very  legible 
when  composed  into  words,  and  is  effective  on  the  page. 

Any  attempt  to  get  the  effect  of  Blackletter  with  the 
Roman  form  is  likely  to  result  clumsily.  The  celebrated 
Roman  faces  designed  by  William  Morris  (too  familiar  to 
require  reproduction  here)  are,  despite  their  real  beauty, 


ABrAEZH0IKAMNSOnPCTT<t>XYQ 

*Opob  JUCN  co  ascbpec  'AeHNdToi  TCI 
napoNTd  nparjucrra  noX\HN  duacoXidN 
CXONTQ  Kdi  rapa/HN.  ou  JUONON  TCO  noXXd 
npoeTceai  Kai  JUHOCN  e?Nai  npouprou  nepi 
auTooN  eu  XerciN,  aXXa  Kdi  nepi  TOON 
unoXoincoN  Kara  raura  juHde  icae'  CN  TO 
cuju9epoN  naNTac  Hrctceai,  aXXa  role  JUCN 
codi,  ToTc  V  erepcoc  &OKCIN. 


66.   MODERN  GREEK  TYPE 


SELWYN  IMAGE 


over-black  on  the  page,  and  awkward  when  examined  in 
detail.  While  the  stimulus  Morris's  work  gave  to  typog- 
raphy was  much  needed  at  that  time,  the  present  reaction 
toward  more  refined  faces  is  most  gratifying.  By  precept 
and  example  Mr.  Morris  produced  a  salutary  revolt  against 
the  too  thin  and  light  and  mechanical  type  faces  before  in 
use,  but  he  went  too  far  in  the  opposite  direction,  and  we 
are  now  certainly  falling  back  upon  a  more  desirable  mean. 
Mr.  Herbert  P.  Home  is  at  present  designing  a  new 
fount  of  type  for  the  Merrymount  Press,  Boston,  to  be 


MODERN     ROMAN    LETTERS 


73 


known  as  the  "  Mont'  Allegro,"  which  seems,  from  the 
designs  so  far  as  at  present  completed,  likely  to  prove  in- 
some  respects  the  most  scholarly  and  severe  of  modern  faces. 

*9  Up,  Lord,  &r)d  let  i)ot  npat?  bave  tbe  upper 
barjd  :  let  the  beatbex)  be  judged  ix>  tby  sigbt. 
20  Put  then}  ir>  f5ar,  O  Lord  :  tbatfhc  beatbei) 

rpay  ki)o  w  tbcrrjscl  vcs  to  be  but  riper?. 

PSALME  X. 

UTQUID,DOMINE? 

)HY  staijdest  tbou  so 
far  off,  O  Lord:  ai)d 
bidest  tby  face  ir>  tbe 
peedful  tiipe  of  trou^ 
ble? 

2  Tbeuijgodtyf&rbis 
owp  lust  dotb  perse^ 
cute  fhe  poor:  let  tbexx> 
be  taker?  ir>  tbe  craf- 
ty wilir>ess  tbat 


bave  irrjagir)Gd. 

3  For  tbe  upgod^-  batb  n?ade  boast  of  bis 
owr>  bcart's  desire  :  apd  speaketb  good  of  ftie 
covetous,  wbont)  God  abborreti% 

4  Tbe  uijgod^y  is  so  proud,  tbat  be  caretb  iTOt 
f6r  God  :  peitber  is  God  ir)  all  bis  tbougbts. 


67.  MODERN  ROMAN  TYPE 


C.  R.  ASHBEE 


The  Greek  type  designed  for  the  Macmillan  Company  of 
England,  by  Mr.  Selwyn  Image,  66,  is  of  sufficient  interest 
to  be  shown  here,  despite  the  fact  that  it  is  not  strictly 
germane  to  our  subject.  In  this  face  Mr.  Image  has 


74  MODERN     ROMAN    LETTERS 

returned  to  the  more  classic  Greek  form,  although  the  result 
may  at  first  glance  seem  illegible  to  the  reader  familiar  with 
the  more  common  cursive  letters. 

The  type  shown  in  67  is  a  new  English  face  designed 
by  Mr.  C.  R.  Ashbee  for  a  prayerbook  for  the  King. 
Interesting  as  it  is,  it  seems  in  many  ways  too  extreme  and 
eccentric  to  be  wholly  satisfactory  :  the  very  metal  of  type 
would  seem  to  postulate  a  less  "  tricky  "  treatment. 


LETTERyGER^K) 
AR>CPCfGHl)r<L 


68.  MODERN  GERMAN  CAPITALS        AFTER  J.  M.  OLBRICH 

It  is  interesting  to  attempt  a  discrimination  between  the 
various  national  styles  of  pen  letters  which  the  recently 
revived  interest  in  the  art  of  lettering  is  producing  ;  and  it 
is  especially  worth  while  to  note  that  the  activity  seems, 
even  in  Germany,  to  be  devoted  almost  exclusively  to  the 
development  and  variation  of  the  Roman  forms.  It  is 
noteworthy,  too,  after  so  long  a  period  of  the  dull  copying 
of  bad  forms,  and  particularly  of  bad  type  forms,  that 
the  modern  trend  is  distinctly  in  the  direction  of  freedom  ; 
though  this  freedom  is  more  marked  in  French  and  German 


MODERN    ROMAN    LETTERS  75 

than  in  English  or  American  work.      Hand  in  hand  with 
this  increased  freedom  of  treatment  has  naturally  come  a 

CIVILISAriONsrPRIX 
TABIXTURE^ORT- 
JARGONsrFLUIDITE 
COLLErPASTORALE 


69.   MODERN  GERMAN  CAPITALS  GUSTAVE  LEMMEN 

clearer  disclosure  of  the  mediums  employed  ;  and  indeed  in 
much  of  the  best  modern  work  the  designer  has  so  far  lent 
himself  to  his  tools  that  the  tools  themselves  have,  in  great 
measure,  become  responsible  for  the  resulting  letter  forms. 


70.  MODERN  GERMAN  CAPITALS        AFTER  ALOIS  LUDWIG 


76  MODERN     ROMAN    LETTERS 

Moreover  modern  designers  are  showing  a  welcome  atten- 
tion to  minuscule  letters,  and  it  even  seems  possible  that 
before  long  some  small  letter  forms  that  shall  be  distinc- 
tively of  the  pen  may  be  developed,  and  that  the  use  of  type 
models  for  minuscule  pen  letters  will  no  longer  be  found 
necessary  or  commendable. 


IIOPQRSCUDX 
SUJZ 

71.   MODERN  GERMAN  CAPITALS      AFTER  OTTO  ECKMANN 


Another  noticeable  tendency  in  modern  lettering  seems 
to  be  the  gradual  promotion  of  small  letter  forms  to  the 
dignity  of  capitals,  (see  79  and  98  for  examples)  in  much  the 
same  way  as  the  Uncial  letter  and  its  immediate  deriva- 
tives produced  the  present  small  letter.  It  is  surely  to  be 
hoped  that  this  movement  may  not  lose  vitality  before  it 
has  had  time  to  enrich  us  with  some  new  and  excellent 
forms. 


CJL3 

•    •      • 

a 


n 

r\ 


ac 


*         • 

n 


OQ 

a; 


»  •  • 

OD 


-*         A 


CO 


2 

B 


V- 


78  MODERN     ROMAN     LETTERS 


CAR  HAS 

LT/ET   IVLI 


C 


0 


73.   MODERN  GERMAN  CAPITALS  JOSEPH  PLfiCNIK 


MODERN    ROMAN    LETTERS  79 

BEND  Jl 

NOTYU 
CAGFH 

LASTZ 
KRXWR 

QVIPEM 

74.   MODERN  GERMAN  CAPITALS  AFTER  FRANZ  STUCK 


80  MODERN     ROMAN    LETTERS 


JKLLPOPp 
RSGUVCJ 


23^869751 


75.   MODERN  GERMAN  CAPITALS  F.  C.  B. 


MODERN     ROMAN    LETTERS  81 


MARCHM 
TED  GUX 

JO: 
KLfNF  BR 
QVY2AD 

'  123 


567 


76.   MODERN  GERMAN  CAPITALS  AFTER  BERNHARD  PANKOK 


82 


MODERN     ROMAN     LETTERS 


77.   MODERN    FRENCH    POSTER 
THEO.  VAN   RYSSELBERGHE 


The  influence  of  nationality 
is  strongly  shown  in  the  mod- 
ern lettering  of  all  countries; 
and  it  is  generally  as  easy  to 
recognize  a  specimen  as  the 
work  of  a  German,  French, 
English,  or  American  artist, 
respectively,  no  matter  how 
individual  he  may  be,  as  it  is 
to  tell  the  difference  between 
the  work  of  two  different 
designers. 

The  modern  German  seems 
to  have  an  undeniable  fresh- 
ness of  outlook  on  the  Roman 

alphabet.      He  treats  it  with  a  freedom  and  variety  and  a 

certain  disregard  of  precedent 

—  induced,   perhaps,    by    his 

schooling  in  Blackletter — that 

often    produces    delightful, 

though  sometimes,  be  it  added, 

direful    results.      But    if   the 

extreme  and  bizarre  forms  be 

thrown  aside  the  designer  may 

obtain    suggestions  of   great 

benefit    and    value    from   the 

more   restrained   examples  of 

German   work.      Many  emi- 
nent   German    draughtsmen, 

whose  work   is  all   too   little 

known    in    this    country,  are 


78.    MODERN     FRENCH     COVER 
M.  P.  VERNEUIL 


MODERN     ROMAN     LETTERS  83 


ftBCDEF 


NOPQKST 
UVXZYDH 


79.   MODERN  FRENCH  LETTERS  AFTER  M.  P.  VERNEUIL 


84 


MODERN     ROMAN    LETTERS 


80.   MODERN    FRENCH    POSTER 
F.  BONNARD 


using  letters  with  the  same  dis- 
tinction that  has  of  late  years 
marked  their  purely  decorative 
work,  as  the  specimens  shown 
in  68  to  76  will  evidence. 
Figures  68  and  75  show  forms 
which  are  perhaps  especially 
representative  of  the  general 
modern  tendency  in  German 
work  and  many  German  artists 
are  using  letters  of  very  similar 
general  forms  to  these  although, 
of  course,  with  individual  vari- 
ations. Figures  70  and  73 

show  two  very  original  and  pleasing  styles,  also  markedly 

German.     In  spite  of  the  national  drift  toward  the  Roman, 

much  modern  German  letter- 

ing still  takes  the  Gothic  and 

Blackletter    forms  ;    and    the 

specimen    reproduced    in    71 

shows  a  curious  combination 

of    the    Gothic,   Uncial    and 

Roman  forms  pervaded  by  the 

German  spirit.    The  beautiful 

lettering  in  72  seems  to  have 

been  inspired  from  a  stone-cut 

Uncial.     Figure  74  shows  an 

almost  strictly  Roman  letter, 

and    yet    is    as    unmistakably 

German    in  handling   as   any 

J 

of  the  other  examples  shown. 


t.^,~. 

T 

L1MAGE 


81.    MODERN    FRENCH    COVER 

GEORGE  AURIOL 


86 


MODERN     ROMAN    LETTERS 


Among  the  examples  of  modern  French  lettering,  those 
shown  in  78  and  79  are  perhaps  the  most  typical  of  the 
modern  school.  This  style  of  letter  was  given  its  most 


*«$T  i  Ix  fois  un  jcu  D'ArCT  cT  O'csfJRiT;  on 


comme   A 


vum 


cue, 
n«tf> 
ci  d 


«\rt- 


RechcRche   p*i«Ml«lv 


imrv&mivtion 


jjroOioue 
mi* 


ctlrvtcnt  en  cc  R'ecuei)  ; 


«/<•  lra\)ait  fail  trducjoie  »•  /\  K 
Oc»  con^ehhon> 


le 


f>tf.*Tt»ul  pRVcKmc   I'cntR^irt 
<i   Oc  IA  tRi 


83.  MODERN  FRENCH  LETTERED  PAGE        GEORGE  AURIOL 

consistent  form  by  the  joint  efforts  of  M.  P.  Verneuil  and 
some  of  the  pupils  of  Eugene  Grasset,  after  whose  letter  it 
was  originally  modeled.  Grasset  freely  varies  his  use  of 
this  form  in  his  different  designs,  as  in  85,  but  founds  many 
of  his  best  specimens  upon  the  earlier  French  models. 


MODERN     ROMAN     LETTERS  87 


GEORGE  AUR1OL 

bix  usual  htterx.  \  2  3 

4^?illi&m  the  pilot 

Dublin.  fiovJering  -0<\let 


"\?<\n  D-^ck  quaint  fox. 
joe    567890. 

A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H 
IJKLMNO 
PQRSTU 
S?  X 


84.   MODERN   FRENCH  LETTERS  "CURSIVE"  GEORGE  AURIOL 


88 


MODERN     ROMAN     LETTERS 


M.  George  Auriol  has 
extended  the  modern 
use  of  drawn  letters  by 
publishing  a  number  of 
small  books  which 
he  has  handwritten 
throughout,  although  the 
form  of  letter  he  gener- 
ally uses  for  this  pur- 
pose is  purely  modern 
and  not  at  all  like  the 
texts  of  the  medieval 
scribes.  M.  Auriol's 
letter  is  beautifully  clear, 
readable  and  original ; 
"brushy"  in  its  tech- 
nique, yet  suitable  for 
rapid  writing.  He  calls 


85. 


ARI-HORIZOri-STTLEWAX 
FAVORJ  VLIVS  •  O£SARI 
BOLiriGBROKE-DEFEAT 
COASTLATITVDE-MIGHT 

SVCCESS-PATRIOT  OVEEM 
DOVBTPYGnr  >- 


86.  MODERN  ENGLISH  CAPITALS 


WALTER  CRANE 


MODERN    ROMAN    LETTERS  89 


COMEDY-THEATRE 

SIiAKESPEAMN-SEAS°N 


DECEMBER  19-1900  -TO  APRIL9  -1901 


87.   MODERN  ENGLISH  POSTER 


WALTER  CRANE 


90  MODERN     ROMAN    LETTERS 


ftBGD 


KbMNO 


UWXTZ 


88.   MODERN  ENGLISH  CAPITALS  WALTER  CRANE 


MODERN    ROMAM     LETTERS 


91 


-  ftacchartfes  - 


torn  -Smbol 
Joy- 
Qua  Ke  -Truth- 


t- 


MODERN    ENGLISH    LETTERS 
WALTER  CRANE 


it  a  "Cursive"  letter,  and  has 
recently  made  designs  for  ^its- 
use  in  type.  The  page  shown 
in  83  is  from  the  .preface  to 
a  book  of  his  well-known 
designs  for  monograms,  and 
the  entire  text  is  written  in 
this  cursive  form.  The  indi- 
vidual letters  of  this  "Cur- 
sive" may  be  more  easily 
studied  in  84.  The  cover  for 
"L'Image",  81,  shows  the 
same  designer's  use  of  a  more  conventional  Roman  form. 

O 

The  poster  by  M.  Theo.  van  Rysselberghe  shown  in  77 
exhibits  two  interesting  forms  of  French  small  letters  that 
are  worthy  of  study  and  sug- 
gestive for  development. 

M.  AlphonsMucha  employs 
a  distinctive  letter,  especially 
fitted  to  his  technique,  which 
he  uses  almost  invariably,  82. 

Much  recent  French  letter- 
ing inclines  toward  a  certain 
formlessness,  that,  although 
sometimes  admirable  when 
regarded  merely  from  the  point 
of  view  of  harmony  with  the 
design,  has  little  value  other- 
wise. A  typical  specimen  of 
such  formless  lettering  is  that  90.  MODERN  ENGLISH  TITLE 
shown  in  the  very  charming  JOSEPH  w.  SIMPSON 


T£B(0)K 

o  ©  oQF 

BOOK* 
PLATES 

o  oPVBLISHED 
QVARTERLYAT 
2o  FREDERICKS 
IN  EDINBVRGH 


92 


MODERN     ROMAN    LETTERS 


TS 


cFrenchCIeancrs 

tciJhWalk  EDINBURGH 

91.    MODERN    ENGLISH    POSTER 
JOSEPH  W.  SIMPSON 


"Revue   Blanche"  poster,  80. 

Excellent    when    considered 

with  the   design,  the   lettering 

alone  makes  but  an  indifferent 

showing. 

The     Italian     designers    of 

letters   have   not    yet   evolved 

any   very   distinctive    national 

forms.     In  many  ways  Italian 

work  resembles  the  German. 

It    has    less    originality,    but 

greater  subtlety  and  refinement. 
The    strongest    personality 

among  modern  British  letterers 

is  Mr.  Walter  Crane.     Characteristic  examples  of  his  work 

are  shown  in   86,  87,  88  and  89.      Although  sometimes 

apparently  careless  and  too  often  rough,  his  lettering  has  the 

merit  and  charm  of  invariably 
disclosing  the  instrument  and 
the  material  employed.  Mr. 
Crane  is  especially  fond  of  an 
Uncial  pen  form,  which  he 
varies  with  masterful  freedom. 
It  may  be  mentioned  in  pass- 
ing that  he  is  perhaps  the  only 
designer  who  has  been  able  to 
make  the  wrongly  accented  Q^ 
seem  consistent  (compare  86), 
or  who  has  conquered  its 
swash  tail  when  the  letter  is 
accented  in  this  unusual  way. 


LondonTVpes 

ByWifflamNicholson. 


92.    MODERN     ENGLISH     COVER 
WILLIAM    NICHOLSON 


MODERN    ROMAN    LETTERS 


93 


93.    MODERN    ENGLISH    COVER 
LEWIS  F.'DAY 


Mr.  Lewis  F.  Day  has  be- 
come a  recognized  authority 
on  lettering,  both  through  his 
writings  and  his  handiwork. 
His  great  versatility  makes  it 
difficult  to  select  a  specimen 
which  may  be  taken  as  char- 
acteristic of  his  work;  but  per- 
haps the  lettering  shown  in  95 
is  as  representative  as  any  that 
could  be  chosen.  Among  his 
designs  the  magazine  cover,  93, 
is  an  unusually  free  and  effec- 
tive composition,  and  its  letter 
forms  possess  the  variety  re- 
quired to  satisfy  the  eye  when  so  much  of  the  whole  effect 
of  the  design  depends  upon  them. 

The  style  of  lettering  ordinarily  employed  by  Mr.  Selwyn 
Image  —  a  style  of  marked  originality  and  distinction  —  is 
well  exhibited  in  the  design  for  a  book  cover,  98. 

The  name  of  Mr.  Charles  Ricketts  is  intimately  associated 
with    the   Vale    Press.     The 
detail  of  the  title-page  repro- 
duced in   100  shows  a  char- 
acteristic bit  of  his  work. 

Mr.  J.  W.  Simpson,  one  of 
the  younger  British  draughts- 
men, uses  a  graceful  and 
interestingly  linked  Roman 
form  shown  in  the  panel  from 
a  title-page,  90.  The  bizarre 


THE  PAGE 

Christmas 
1900 


MODERN    ENGLISH    TITLE 
GORDON  CRAIG 


94  MODERN     ROMAN     LETTERS 


ABCD 


FGHIK 
LMNOP 
QRSTU 
WXYZ 


95.   MODERN  ENGLISH  CAPITALS  LEWIS  F.  DAY 


MODERN     ROMAN     LETTERS 


95 


letter  by  the  same  artist,  91, 
is  fairly  representative  of  a 
style  recently  come  into  vogue 
among  the  younger  British 
draughtsmen,  which  is  related 
to  a  form  of  letter  brought 
into  fashion  by  the  new  Eng- 
lish school  of  designers  on 
wood,  among  whom  may  be 
mentioned  Mr.  William  Nich- 
olson and  Mr.  Gordon  Craig, 
both  of  whom  have  done  letter- 
ing distinguished  by  its  indica- 
tion of  the  medium  employed. 
Figure  92  shows  Mr.  Nichol- 
son's favorite  type  of  letter 


THE 

NATURAL:  HISTORY 
OF-SELBORNE-BY 
GILBERT-^7HITE 


Edited  by 
Grant  Allen 
Illustrated  by 
Edmund  H-Nev 


POEMS 

BY 


ILLUSTRATIONS  BY 
ROBERT  AN  NINO  BELL 
AND  INTRODVCTION 
BY  WALTER  RALEIGH 


LONDON ;  GEORGE  BELL 
?fSONS  YORK  STREET 
COVENT  GARDEN =NEW 
YORK  66 FIFTH  A/ENVE 
MDCCCXCVH 


6.    MODERN    ENGLISH    TITLE 
ROBERT  ANNING  BELL 


paiDuersi 
'xix-cenjur^ 


97.    MODERN    ENGLISH    COVER 
EDMUND  H.  NEW 


8.    MODERN    ENGLISH    COVER 
SELWYN   IMAGE 


96 


MODERN     ROMAN    LETTERS 


fairly,  and  the  style  of  Mr.  Craig's  work  is  suggested  by  the 
title  for  a  book  cover  in  94. 

The  book  cover,  97,  by  Mr.  Edmund  H.  New,  shows 

ORIGINALITY- OF 

DEJIGN-GODD  CRAFTJMAN- 

-JHIPMODERATECHARGEy 

CATALOGUE!  FREE 


99.   MODERN  ENGLISH  CAPITALS 


ANONYMOUS 


variants  of  the  Roman  capital  and  minuscule  forms,  which 
closely  adhere  to  classic  models. 

Mr.  Robert  Anning  Bell  has  done  much  distinctive  let- 
tering in  intimate  association  with  design.  Figure  96  is 
fairly  representative  of  his  style  of  work. 


1. 1- I 


IH£  MVSCS 

VT 


100.  MODERN  ENGLISH  CAPITALS         CHARLES  RICKETTS 

Such  other  British  artists  as  Messrs.  Alfred  Parsons, 
James  F.  Sullivan.  Hugh  Thompson,  Herbert  Railton,  Byam 
Shaw,  H.  Granville  Fell  and  A.  Garth  Jones,  although  much 
better  known  for  their  designs  than  for  their  letters,  occa- 


MODERN    ROMAN     LETTERS 


97 


101.    MODERN     AMERICAN     TITLE 
EDWIN    A.  ABBEY 


sionally  give  us  bits  of  letter- 
ing which  are  both  unusual 
and  excellent ;  but  these  bits 
are  commonly  so  subordinated 
to  the  designs  in  which  they 
are  used  and  so  involved  with 
them  as  to  be  beyond  the  scope 
of  the  present  book. 

In  illustrating  the  lettering 
of  American  artists  it  has  been 
unfortunately  found  necessary 


BY  van  IASSEL  SDTPHEN 


102.   MODERN  AMERICAN  TITLE 

to  omit  the  work  of  many 
well-known  designers,  either 
because  their  usual  style  of 
lettering  is  too  similar  in  fund- 
amental forms  to  the  work  of 
some  other  draughtsman,  or 
because  the  letters  they  com- 
monly employ  are  not  distinc- 
tive or  individual. 

Mr.  Edwin  A.  Abbey  is  a 
notable  example  of  an  artist 
who  has  not  disdained  to 
expend  both  time  and  practice 
on  such  a  minor  art  as  lettering 


ANONYMOUS 


A  Journal  of  Civilization 

i  LW  Van*.  MOVEMXU  14:1900 


103.     MODERN     AMERICAN     COVER 
EDWARD    PENFIELD 


98  MODERN     ROMAN     LETTERS 


ABCDE 
FGHIJ 
KLMN 
OPQR 

STUV 
WXYZ 


104.   MODERN  AMERICAN  CAPITALS  EDWARD  PENFIELD 


MODERN     ROMAN    LETTERS  99 


j  klmnopq 
rstuvwxyz 

1264567 
890 


105.   MODERN  AMERICAN  SMALL  LETTERS  EDWARD  PENFIELD 


100         MODERN     ROMAN    LETTERS 


CfflCKEMNG 
HALL 


that  he  might  be  able  to 
letter  his  own  designs,  as 
the  beautiful  page,  shown 
in  153  in  the  succeeding 
chapter,  will  sufficiently 
prove.  The  lettering  of 
the  title-page  for  Her- 
rick's  poems,  101,  by  the 
same  draughtsman,  is 
likewise  excellent,  being 
both  original  and  appro- 
priate. The  letters  in 
both  these  examples  are 
modeled  after  old  work, 
and  both  display  an  unus- 
ually keen  grasp  of  the 
limitations  and  possibili- 
ties of  the  forms  em- 
ployed, especially  in  the  former,  153,  where  the  use  of 
capitals  to  form  words  is  particularly  noteworthy,  while  in 
general  composition  and  spacing  the  spirit  of  the  letter  used 
(compare  179)  has  been  perfectly  preserved. 

Mr.  Edward  Penfield's  work  first  attracted  attention 
through  the  series  of  posters  which  he  designed  for  c  Harp- 
er's Magazine'  with  unfailing  fertility  of  invention  for 
several  years.  During  this  time  he  evolved  a  style  of  letter 
which  exactly  fitted  the  character  of  his  work.  The  cover 
design  shown  in  103  displays  his  characteristic  letter  in 
actual  use;  while  the  two  interesting  pages  of  large  and 
small  letter  alphabets  by  him,  104  and  105,  show  the  latest 
and  best  development  of  these  letter  forms.  The  heading 


106.    MODERN  AMERICAN  COVER  DESIGN 
H.  VAN   B.  MAGONIGLE 


MODERN     ROMAN    LETTERS         101 


PROGEAM. 

-MCMl- 
ABCDEFG 
HIJKLMN 
OPQF3IV 

WXYZ 


107.   MODERN  AMERICAN  CAPITALS  H.  VAN  B.  MAGONIGLE 


102 


MODERN     ROMAN    LETTERS 


VAN-DYCK 

TITIAN 
VELASQYEZ 
HOLBEINYI 
BOTTICELLI 
REMBRANDT 
REYNOLDS 

MILLET 

G!2y-BELLINI 

MVRILLO 

HALS 
RAPHAEL 

V)8.  MODERN  AMERICAN   CAPITALS 
B.  G.  GOODHUE 


shown  in  102  exhibits  a 
slightly  different  letter,  evi- 
dently based  upon  that  used 
by  Mr.  Penfield. 

The  capitals  by  Mr.  H.  Van 
B.  Magonigle,  shown  in  107, 
are  derived  from  classic  Roman 
forms  but  treated  with  a  mod- 
ern freedom  that  makes  them 
unusually  attractive.  They 
appear,  however,  to*' better 
advantage  in  actual  use  in 
conjunction  with  a  design, 
1 06,  than  when  shown  in  the 
necessarily  restricted  form  of 
an  alphabetical  page  panel. 

Mr.  Bertram  G.  Goodhue, 
whose  designs  for  type  have 
already  been  mentioned,  is  a 


tDod<2c£TTea<2  fir-*  Co 


HOLIDAY 

ILLUSTRATED 

BOOK/S 


109.   MODERN  AMERICAN  TITLE 


WILL  BRADLEY 


104 


MODERN    ROMAN    LETTERS 


*6&  INTERACTIONAL 

STVDIO 

An  Illustrated  Monthly  Ma  ga 
zine  of  FINE  (T&,  APPLIED 
ART  'Edited  &>  CHARGES 
HOLME  <Publishedb?]QHN 
LANBTheBodlev-Head  at 
i4*o  FifiheAve  NewYorks 


. 

script  ion  >C3.3i?  post  paid 


most  facile  and  careful  let- 
terer.  Although  his  name  is 
more  intimately  associated 
with  Blackletter  (examples  of 
his  work  in  that  style  are 
shown  in  the  following  chap- 
ter), he  has  devised  some  very 
interesting  variations  of  the 
Roman  forms,  such  as  that 
used  in  1 08,  as  an  example. 


111.    MODERN    AMERICAN     COVER 
WILL  BRADLEY 

Mr.  Will  Bradley  uses  a  very 
individual  style  of  the  Roman 
capital,  often  marked  by  a  pecu- 
liar exaggeration  in  the  width 
of  the  round  letters,  contrasted 
with  narrow  tall  forms  in  such 
letters  as  E,  F  and  L.  Mr. 
Bradley  has  become  more  free 
and  unconventional  in  his  later 
work,  but  his  specimens  have 
always  been  noteworthy  for 
beauty  of  line  and  spacing;  see 
in.  Figure  109  shows  his 
employment  of  a  brush-made 
variant  of  the  Roman  form; 


CHICKERING 
L  L 


-  OPENING  CONCERJ 

'TLVenin 


tit/falf  Pas€  Eight  O'clock 
("Price    /2..00 


Admit  One  to  the  Balcony 


'Balcony  ,  +  . 

CHICKEBJNG 
£H*    <&     L,    L 

OPENING  CONCERT 

Vr  i  d  ay  rE^Ve.  n  i  n^C 
Tebruarjs    8  ^19  Ol 


112.    MODERN  AMERICAN  TICKET 
A.  ].  IORIO 


MODERN     ROMAN     LETTERS        105 


MAN 
LETTER 

ABC  D  E  F 
G  H  I  J  K 
L  M  N  O  P 

S  TV 
WX&'YZ 

113.   MODERN  AMERICAN  CAPITALS  AFTER  WILL  BRADLEY 


106         MODERN     ROMAN    LETTERS 

ODES     OF 
PIN    D  A  R 

LONDON 


A  B  C  D  E  F 
G  H  I  R  L  M 
N  O  P  CLR  S 
T  V  X  Y  Z 

114.  MODERN  AMERICAN  CAPITALS  MAXFIELD  PARRISH 


MODERN    ROMAN    LETTERS         107 

and  1 1  o  shows  both  capitals  and  small  letters  drawn  in  his 
earlier  and  less  distinctive  style. 


KNICKERBOCKER'S 

HISTORY 
OF  NEW  YORK 

BY  WASHINGTON  IRVING 


115.   MODERN  AMERICAN  TITLE  MAXFIELD  PARRISH 

The  ticket,  112,  designed  by  Mr.  A.  J.  lorio,  suggests 
what  our  theatre  tickets  might  be  made.      In  spacing  and 

BIGELOW.  KENNARD  AND  CO. 
WILL  HOLD,  IN  THEIR  ART 
ROOMS,  MARCH  25  TO  APRIL  6 
INCLUSIVE.  A  SPECIAL  EXHIBP 
TION  AND  SALE  OF  GRUEBY 
POTTERY  INCLUDING  THE 
COLLECTION  SELECTED  FOR 
THE  BUFFALO  EXPOSITION 
MDCCCCI 

116.  MODERN  AMERICAN  CAPITALS      A.  B.  LK  BOUTILLIER 

general  arrangement  of  the  letters  and  the  freedom  of  treat- 
ment, Mr.  lorio's  work  may  be  compared  with  much  of  the 


108         MODERN     ROMAN    LETTERS 


MODIFIED 


ITALIAN 


CAPITALS 


ABCDEFG 


H IJ  KLMN 

OPQFSTU 
VZWXY 


117.  MODERN  AMERICAN  CAPITALS  A.  B.  LB  BOUTILLIER 


MODERN     ROMAN     LETTERS          109 


Lower 
abcdefi 


hijklmn 
opqrstu 


118.     MODERN  AMERICAN  SMALL  LETTERS  A.  B.  LK  BOUTILLIER 


110 


MODERN     ROMAN     LETTERS 


GRUBBY 
POTTEKY 


GOLD  MEDALS 

PARIS    I90O 

ST.  PETERSBURG 

1901 


GRUBBY  FAIENCE 
CO.BOSTON  MASS 


119.     MODERN  AMERICAN  POSTER 
A.  B.  LK  BOUTILLIER 


work  of  Mr.  Bradley.  Figure 
113  shows  a  modern  Roman 
capital  form  modeled  upon  the 
work  of  Mr.  Bradley. 

Mr.  Maxfield  Parrish  com- 
monly employs  a  widely  spaced 
letter,  fashioned  closely  after 
the  old  German  models,  beau- 
tiful in  its  forms,  and  displaying 
the  individuality  of  the  artist  in 
its  composition.  The  form 
and  use  of  Mr.  Parrish's  usual 
letter  is  well  shown  in  114; 
and  the  title  from  a  book  cover 
design,  115,  shows  yet  another 
example  of  the  letter  in  service. 

The  lettering  of  Mr.  A.  B. 


Libris 


Le  Boutillier  is  always  notable 
for  spacing  and  composition. 
Figures  117  and  118  exhibit 
excellent  capital  and  small- 
letter  forms  (which,  by  the 
way,  were  drawn  at  the  same 
size  as  the  reproductions);  and 


w 

ERNEST)  , 
INQESSOlll  ( 
WHITE,  ^ 

I 


120.      AMERICAN   BOOK-PLATE 
CLAUDE    KAYETTE    BRAGDON 


MODERN    ROMAN     LETTERS         111 

the  two  other  specimens  of  Mr.  Le  Boutillier's  work,  116 
and  119,  which  are  reproduced  to  show  his  letters  in  use, 
will  be  found  exemplars  for  spacing,  composition,  balance 


LITERATURE 

An  International  GAZETTE  of 
CRITICISM  *$&  Issued  Weekly 
Price  10  cents  a  copy  ^4.00  ayear 


121.  MODERN  AMERICAN  TITLE  C.  F.  BRAGDON 

of  weight  and  color,  and,  in  the  latter  drawing,  for  harmony 
between  the  lettering  and  the  treatment  of  the  design. 

The  form  of  letter  preferred  by  Mr.  Claude  Fayette 
Bragdon  is  represented  by  the  page  of  small  letters,  59, 
which,  as  we  have  already  said,  are  closely  modeled  on  the 
type  alphabet  designed  by  Jenson.  In  Mr.  Bragdon's  ver- 

GRUEBY  FAIENCE  COMPANY 

MAKERS  OF  ENAMELED  TERRA 
COTTA.  TILES.  GRUEBY  POTTERY 
K  AND  FIRST  ST'S,  BOSTON.  MASS 

122.  MODERN  AMERICAN  LETTER-HEAD       C.  F.  BRAGDON 

sion  they  represent  an  excellently  useful  and  conservative 
style  of  small  letter.  They  are  shown  in  use,  with  harmo- 
nious capitals  and  italics,  in  the  c  Literature '  cover  design, 
121.  In  the  small  book-plate,  reproduced  in  120,  Mr. 


112 


MODERN     ROMAN     LETTERS 


Bragdon  has  used  a  very  graceful  variant,  especially  note- 
worthy for  its  freedom  of  serif  treatment;  and  in  the 
letter-heading,  122,  he  has  employed  an  attractive  capital 

of  still  different  character. 
Mr.  H.  L.  Bridwell 
has  originated  the  singu- 
larly excellent  letter  shown 
in  124,  which  is  founded 
upon  some  of  the  modern 
French  architectural  forms. 
He  uses  it  with  great  free- 
dom and  variety  in  spacing 
according  to  the  effect  that 
he  desires  to  produce.  In 
one  instance  he  will  jam 
the  letters  together  in  an 
oddly  crowded  line,  while 
in  another  we  find  them 
spread  far  apart,  but  always 
with  excellent  results  as 
regards  the  design  as  a 
whole.  Something  of  this 
variation  of  spacing  is 
shown  in  123.  In  the 
numerous  theatrical  post- 
ers which  Mr.  Bridwell  has 

designed — and  which  too  seldom  bear  his  signature  —  he 
employs  a  great  variety  of  lettering.  Sometimes,  of  course, 
the  freedom  of  his  work  is  restricted  by  the  conservatism  of 
clients;  but  often  the  letter  forms  here  illustrated  add  to  the 
style  and  distinction  of  his  designs. 


TO  ANSWER. 
CORRECTLY 
WHAT  TIME 


123.     MODERN    AMERICAN    COVER 
H.  L.  BRIDWELL 


MODERN     ROMAN     LETTERS         113 


FUENCH 


FRENCH 
ABCDEFG 
H  I  J  KLMNO 
PQR.STUW 
VXYZ  154 
56769  & 


l'J4.    MODERN   AMERICAN  CAPITALS  H.  L.  BRIDWELL 


114         MODERN     ROMAN    LETTERS 


ROMAN 
LETTERS 
ABCDEF 
GHIJRL 
MNOPQR 
STUVZW 


125.   MODERN  AMERICAN  CAPITALS  FRANK  HAZENPLUG 


MODERN     ROMAN    LETTERS         115 


ABCD 

EFCHI 
JRLM 

NORQ 
STUV 
WXY 


I.'-,.    MOIH.RN  AMERICAN  CAPITALS  FRANK  HAZEXPLUG 


116 


MODERN     ROMAN    LETTERS 


iekery  a  nn.  (Si 
o tfh er  g  i  r  1  .r  (& 
b  ojy-xT  -  e  Haw 
pea It  i  e 


Mr.  Frank  Hazenplug,  the 
author  of  much  clever  deco- 
rative lettering,  has  evolved  a 
very  black  and  striking  style 
of  capital  that  still  retains 
grace.  P'igures  125  and  126 
show  two  sets  of  Mr.  Hazen- 
plug's  capitals.  A  book  cover 
on  which  he  has  used  small 
letters  in  an  original  way  is 
reproduced  in  127.  Figure 
129  shows  the  employment  of 
a  heavy-faced  letter  similar  to 
that  exhibited  in  alphabet  126, 
but  suggestive  in  its  serif  treat- 
ment of  Mr.  Penfield's  letter. 
Mr.  Edward  Edwards  em- 
ploys a  letter,  128,  which,  though  rather  conventional  in  its 
lines,  is  noteworthy  for  its  treatment  of  serifs  and  its  spacing. 
Mr.  Guernsey  Moore's  letters  shown  in  130  are  naturally 
better  both  in  intrinsic  form,  spacing  and  composition  than 
the  widely  used  "  Post  Old  Style  "  types  which  were  based 
upon  them.  The  large  and  small  letters  displayed  in  133 

show  a  form  that,  at  the  pres- 
ent writing,  seems  to  be  in 
considerable  favor.  It  is,  how- 
ever, too  extreme,  and  its 
peculiarities  are  too  exagger- 
ated to  allow  it  to  become  a 
permanent  style.  But  like 
the  extravagant  German  forms 


127.    MODERN    AMERICAN    COVER 
FRANK  HAZENPLUG 


HARPERS 
PICTORIAL  HISTORY 

OF  THE 


128.    MODERN    AMERICAN   TITLE 
EDWARD   EDWARDS 


MODERN     ROMAN    LETTERS         117 


5] 


A  CATALOGUE 
OF  THE  THIRD 
EXHIBITIONOF 
THE  CHICAGO 
ARTS&CRAFXS 
SOCIETY 


already  referred  to,  it  has  also 
apparent  advantages;  and  a 
few  of  its  characteristics  are 
not  unlikely  to  survive  in  some 
more  conservative  adaptation. 
The  letter  by  Mr.  Harry 
Everett  Townsend  shown  in 
1 3 1  is  most  distinctive  in  effect 
— a  more  refined  form  of  the 
rapidly  drawn  character  shown 
in  138. 

Mr.  Howard  Pyle  often 
gives  us  charming  bits  of  letter- 
ing in  connection  with  his  illus- 
trations. The  heading,  132, 
shows  a  characteristic  line. 
Most  of  Mr.  Pyle's  lettering 
is  "Colonial"  or  Georgian  in 
style,  though  the  initials  he 

uses  with  it  are  generally  rendered  in  the  fashions  of  the 
early  German  woodcuts,  some- 
what similar  to  Holbein's  init- 
ials for  the  "  Dance  of  Death." 
One  of  the  most  original  of 
American  letterers  is  Mr.  Or- 
son Lowell.  Usually  closely 
conjoined  with  design,  his  let- 
tering does  not  show  to  its  full 
value  when  reproduced  apart 
from  its  surroundings,  for 
much  of  its  charm  depends 


129.    MODERN     AMERICAN     COVER 
FRANK    HAZENPLUG 


MIDWINTER 
ROMANCE 
NUMBER 

An  Illustrated 
Weekly  Magazine 
Founded  A?DJi728 
6y  Benj.  Franklin 


130.    MODERN    AMERICAN    TITLE 
GUERNSEY  MOORE 


118         MODERN     ROMAN     LETTERS 

upon  its  harmony  in  line  and  color  with  the  accompanying 
drawing  Mr.  Lowell  has  taken  the  same  basic  forms  as 
those  used  by  Mr.  Penfield,  and  has  played  with  them  until 

INTER1VDLS 
beneath   tho  Linens   of  5IR, 
RICHARD    LOVELACE/  VJ* 
POEM  calexl  —  "  To  Luoafta 
on   going-    to    lKe_^    wars ' 
"vvKioK    sattk   : 

131.    MODERN  AMERICAN  TITLE       HARRY  E.  TOWNSEND 

he  has  developed  a  series  of  most  ingenious  and  fanciful 
letters.  The  examples  reproduced  in  136  and  137  but 
inadequately  show  a  few  of  the  many  forms  that  Mr. 
Lowell  employs  with  remarkable  fertility  of  invention  and 
delightfully  decorative  effect  of  line.  The  small  letters,  135, 
shown  opposite  his  capitals,  134,  are  not  by  Mr.  Lowell, 


Colonies  and  Nation. 


AShortHiflory  ofthePeopte  of 
r/Jf  Unit  ed  States. 


132.    MODERN  AMERICAN  HEADING  HOWARD  PVLE 

nor  are  they  in  any  way  equal  to  his  own  small  letters,  of 
which  regrettably  few  appear  in  his  published  work;  but 
they  may  serve  to  exhibit  a  similar  method  of  treating  a 
much  more  conventional  form  of  minuscule  than  Mr. 


MODERN     ROMAN    LETTERS         119 


abcdeftMklm 

O    QJ 


ABCDEFGH 

IJKLMNOP 

ORSTVUW 


133    MODF.RX  AMERICAN  LETTERS  F.  C.  B- 

• 


120         MODERN     ROMAN     LETTERS 


4.  MODERN  AMERICAN  CAPITALS  AFTER  ORSON  LOWELL 


MODERN     ROMAN    LETTERS         121 


oo 


135.  MODERN  AMERICAN  SMALL  LETTERS  F.  C.  B. 


122         MODERN     ROMAN    LETTERS 

Lowell  would  himself  use  for  the  same  purpose.  Despite 
its  unconventionally,  however,  an  examination  of  Mr. 
Lowell's  work  will  show  that  each  letter  has  been  developed 
to  fit  the  space  between  its  neighbors  and  to  balance  and 


OF  .A2&   OHEUC!E 

136.  MODERN  AMERICAN  TITLES  ORSON  LOWELL 

relieve  their  forms  ;  and  that,  fanciful  as  some  of  the  shapes 
may  appear,  they  have  invariably  been  knowingly  worked 
out,  and  always  appear  harmonious  and  fit. 

The  pages  of  letters  shown  in  138,  139  and  140  are 
intended  to  suggest  forms  which,  while  suitable  for  rapid 
use,  yet  possess  some  individuality  and  character.  The  so- 
called  "Cursive"  letter  by  Mr.  Maxfield  Parrish,  140,  is 
particularly  effective  for  such  informal  use  —  in  fact,  its 
very  charm  lies  in  its  informality — and  is  quite  as  distinct- 
ively upen-ny"  as  any  of  Mr.  Crane's  work  of  the  same  kind. 

A  glance  over  the  field  of  modern  examples  will  disclose, 
first,  a  general  tendency  to  break  away  from  the  older  type 
models  in  pen-drawn  forms ;  second,  a  growing  partiality 
for  the  small  letter,  and  third,  a  sporadic  disposition  to  use 
capital  and  minuscule  forms  interchangeably.  The  first 


MODERN     ROMAN    LETTERS 


123 


trend  may  be  noticed  by  com- 
paring the  letter  shown  in  132, 
which  is  closely  modeled  after 
type,  with  that  shown  in  136, 
in  which  an  opposite  method  is 
followed,  and  the  letters  are  so 
treated  in  handling  form  and 
color  as  to  best  harmonize  with 
the  design  itself.  The  possibili- 
ties latent  in  the  small  letter  are 
indicated  by  such  interesting  uses 
as  those  shown  in  figures  77,  89, 
98, 101,  in,  1 1 2, 121, 127, 1 30 
and  131.  American  designers 
seem  to  be  especially  interested 
in  the  development  of  the  small 
letter.  Of  the  intermingling  of 
the  capital  and  small  letter  shapes 
examples  may  be  found  in  figures 

71,  75,  77,  78,  79,  82,  83,  84,  98,  127  and  134.  In 
these  examples  it  will  be  noted  that  the  minuscules  seem  to 
be  more  easily  transformed  into  capitals  than  do  the  capitals 
into  minuscules;  only  a  few  of  the  latter  appearing  to  lend 
themselves  harmoniously  to  the  small  letter  guise. 

Such  tendencies  as  these,  if  allowed  to  develop  slowly 
and  naturally,  are  certain  to  evolve  new  forms  —  a  process 
of  modification  which  it  should  be  fully  as  instructive  and 
entertaining  to  observe  as  any  of  the  historical  changes 
that  have  already  become  incorporated  into  our  present 
letter  shapes. 


137.    MODERN  AMERICAN  TITLE 
ORSON  LOWELL 


124         MODERN     ROMAN    LETTERS 


ARCHITECTURAL 
LETTELJ**  DETAILS 

iJmall  Lett  ejxr  •  abcdeig 
hiiklmnopcfrj'tuvwxyz 

*J  *      J  ^J 

Free  dnd^et  Qdjyic  in 


effect  and  feelino 

o 

ARCDEFGHI 
JKLMNOPQ, 

LJTWXWYZ 

-to  be.  uure/d  in 
fenel-form 


138.   MODERN  AMERICAN  LETTERS,  FOR  RAPID  USE  F.  C.  B. 


MODERN     ROMAN    LETTERS         125 


AtfALPHABEF 

£r  ARCHITECTS 


rshtvwxuz  1214567 

xO/.  *~/   ' -/       / 

Plan-  orSecondEoor 

ii- 

A5CDEF(7/i!JKLM 
NOK^TUVWYL 

A  goal  alphabet  (or 
lettering  plans 


139.   MODERN  AMERICAN  ITALIC.  FOR  PLANS,  ETC.      C.  F.  BRAGDON 


126         MODERN    ROMAN    LETTERS 


A    B   C    D    E  T  C 
HIJKL^lOP 
Q     B    S    T    U  V 

X    Y    Z  . 


K     linnopcjrst 
u  v  w   x         z  . 


/oc  CJmcK 

lettering    en   plans, 


140.   MODERN  AMERICAN  LETTERS  MAXFIELD  PARRISH 


CHAPTER     III 

GOTHIC      LETTERS 

The  name  "  Gothic  "  applies  rather  to  the  spirit  than  to  the 
exact  letter  forms  of  the  style.  The  same  spirit  of  freedom 
and  restlessness  characterises  the  architecture  of  the  period 
wherein  this  style  of  letter  was  developed;  and  Gothic 
letters  are  in  many  ways  akin  to  the  fundamental  forms 
of  Gothic  architecture.  Their  effect  is  often  tiring  and 
confusing  to  the  eye  because  of  the  constant  recurrence 
of  very  similar  forms  with  different  letter  meanings;  yet 
this  very  similarity  is  the  main  cause  of  the  pleasing  aspect 
of  a  page  of  Gothic  lettering. 

Unlike  the  Roman  letters,  which  attained  a  complete 
and  final  development,  Gothic  letters  never  reached  author- 
itative and  definitive  forms,  any  more  than  did  Gothic 
architecture.  Every  individual  Gothic  letter  has  several 
quasi-authoritative  shapes,  and  all  of  these  variants  may  be 
accepted,  as  long  as  they  display  an  intelligent  conception 
of  the  spirit  of  the  style  as  a  whole.  Because  of  this  lack 
of  finality,  however,  it  is  impossible  to  analyze  each  of  the 
letter  forms  as  we  were  able  to  do  with  the  Roman  alphabet 
in  Chapter  I ;  yet  this  very  variability  and  variety  constitute 
at  once  the  peculiar  beauty  of  Gothic  and  the  great  difficulty 
of  so  drawing  it  as  to  preserve  its  distinctive  character. 

Any  letter  of  Gothic  form  is  usually  called  either  "Gothic" 
or  "  Blackletter"  indiscriminately,  but  this  use  is  inexact 


128 


GOTHIC     LETTERS 


and  confusing.  The  term  "  Blacldetter  "  should,  strictly, 
be  applied  only  to  letters  in  which  the  amount  of  black  in 
the  line  overbalances  the  white;  and  the  proper  application 
of  the  title  should  be  determined  rather  by  this  balance  or 
weight  of  the  letter  than  by  its  form. 


mnopqn 


ntrorae 


141.   ITALIAN  ROUND  GOTHIC  SMALL  LETTERS 


1500 


The  original  Gothic  letter  was  a  gradual  outgrowth  from 
the  round  Roman  Uncial.  Its  early  forms  retained  all  the 
roundness  of  its  Uncial  parent ;  but  as  the  advantages  of  a 
condensed  form  of  letter  for  the  saving  of  space  became 
manifest,  (parchment  was  expensive  and  bulky)  and  the 


GOTHIC     LETTERS  129 


abcod 

efgt>tj 
klmno 
pqrst 


142.   ITALIAN  ROUND  GOTHIC  SMALL  LETTERS  16th  CENTURY 


130  GOTHIC     LETTERS 


miiabileeftnom 
tun  mm  vn  waft 


143.  SPANISH  ROUND  GOTHIC  LETTERS      FRANCISCO  LUCAS,  1577 


GOTHIC     LETTERS  131 

beauty  of  the  resulting  blacker  page  was  noticed,  the  round 
Gothic  forms  were  written  closer  and  narrower,  the  ascenders  . 
and  descenders  were  shortened,  with  marked  loss  of  legibilty, 
that  the  lines  of  lettering  might  be  brought  closer  together, 
until  a  form  was  evolved  in  which  the  black  overbalanced 
the  white  —  the  Blackletter  which  still  survives  in  the 
common  German  text  of  to-day.  Thus,  though  a  Gothic 
letter  may  not  be  a  Blackletter,  a  Blackletter  is  always 
Gothic,  because  it  is  constructed  upon  Gothic  lines.  On 
the  other  hand,  a  Roman  Blackletter  would  be  an  obvious 
impossibility.  The  very  essential  and  fundamental  quality 
of  a  Roman  letter  lies  in  the  squareness  or  circularity  of 
its  skeleton  form. 

For  clearness  and  convenience,  then,  the  following 
discrimination  between  the  terms  Gothic  and  Blackletter 
will  be  adopted  in  this  treatise :  When  a  letter  is  Gothic 
but  not  a  Blackletter  it  will  be  called  "Round  Gothic"; 
when  it  is  primarily  a  Blackletter  it  will  be  termed  "  Black- 
letter," the  latter  name  being  restricted  to  such  compressed, 
narrow  or  angular  forms  as  the  small  letters  shown  in  144, 
147  and  148.  The  name  "  Round  Gothic"  will  be  applied 
only  to  the  earlier  forms,  such  as  those  shown  in  141  and 
142.  Such  a  distinction  has  not,  I  believe,  hitherto  been 
attempted;  but  the  confusion  which  otherwise  results  makes 
the  discrimination  seem  advisable. 

The  three  pages  of  examples,  figures  141,  142  and  143, 
exhibit  the  characteristic  forms  and  standard  variations 
of  the  Round  Gothic.  In  lieu  of  any  detailed  analysis  of 
these  letter  shapes,  it  may  perhaps  be  sufficient  to  say  that 
they  were  wholly  and  exactly  determined  by  ttye  position  of 
the  quill,  which  was  held  rigidly  upright,  after  the  fashion 


132  GOTHIC     LETTERS 

already  described  in  speaking  of  Roman  lettering;  and  that 
the  letters  were  always  formed  with  a  round  swinging 
motion  of  hand  and  arm,  as  their  forms  and  accented  lines 
clearly  evidence ;  for  the  medieval  scribes  used  the  Round 
Gothic  as  an  easy  and  legible  handwritten  form,  and  linked 
many  of  the  letters. 

Figures  158,  170,  172  and  173  show  some  capitals 
adapted  for  use  with  these  Round  Gothic  letters;  but  the 
beginner  should  be  extremely  wary  of  attempting  to  use 
any  Gothic  capitals  alone  to  form  words,  as  their  outlines 
are  not  suited  for  inter-juxtaposition.  Occasionally  they 
may  thus  be  used,  and  used  effectively,  as  is  shown,  for 
instance,  in  the  beautiful  page  of  lettering  by  Mr.  Edwin 
A.  Abbey,  153;  but  so  successful  a  solution  is  rare,  and 
implies  an  intimate  knowledge  of  the  historic  examples  and 
use  of  Gothic  lettering. 

The  late  Gothic  or  Blackletter  is  condensed  and  nar- 
rowed in  the  extreme.  No  circles  are  employed  in  the 
construction  of  the  small  letters,  which  have  angular  and 
generally  acute  corners.  As  in  all  pen-drawn  letters,  the 
broad  lines  are  made  on  the  down  right-sloping  strokes, 
and  the  narrow  lines  are  at  right  angles  to  these.  Black- 
letter  shapes,  like  those  of  the  Round  Gothic,  cannot,  as 
has  been  said,  be  defined  by  any  set  of  general  rules ;  the 
intrinsic  quality  of  all  Gothic  letters  almost  demands  a 
certain  freedom  of  treatment  that  would  transgress  any 
laws  that  could  be  formulated.  Indeed  the  individual  forms 
should  always  be  subservient  to  the  effect  of  the  line  or  page. 
Observe  in  almost  every  example  shown  how  the  form  of 
the  same  letter  constantly  varies  in  some  minor  detail. 
The  drawing  by  Albrecht  Diirer,  reproduced  in  144,  will, 


GOTHIC     LETTERS  133 


Oi 


ooo 


r 


oooo 


PS 
V 


O     <v> 


O 


7 


ft) 


- 


— 


144.  GERMAN  BLACKLETTER  CONSTRUCTION        ALBRECHT  DURER 


134 


GOTHIC     LETTERS 


however,  serve  to  show  the  construction  of  an  excellent 
Blackletter,  which  may  fairly  be  considered  as  typical. 

The  first  essential  of  a  good  Blackletter  line  or  page  is 
that  it  shall  be  of  a  uniform  color.  Unlike  the  Roman,  the 
Blackletter  form  does  not  permit  that  one  word  be  wider 
spaced  than  others  in  the  same  panel.  The  amount  of 
white  left  between  the  several  letters  should  be  as  nearly  as 


M5.  GERMAN  BLACKLETTERS 


FROM  MANUSCRIPTS 


possible  the  same  throughout,  approximately  the  same  as  the 
space  between  the  perpendicular  strokes  of  the  minuscule 
letters  themselves.  Usually,  the  less  the  white  space  the 
better  will  be  the  general  effect  of  the  page,  for  its  beauty 
depends  much  upon  a  general  blackness  of  aspect;  —  and 
let  it  be  noted  in  passing  that,  for  this  reason,  it  is  doubly 
difficult  to  judge  of  the  final  effect  of  a  Blackletter  page 
from  any  outlined  pencil  sketch.  Even  in  the  cases  of 
those  capital  letters  that  extend  both  above  and  below  the 
guide  lines  it  will  be  found  possible  to  so  adjust  the  spaces 


GOTHIC     LETTERS  135 

and  blacks  as  not  to  interrupt  the  general  uniformity  of 
coloi,  and  it  is  sometimes  advisable  to  fill  awkward  blanks 
by  flourishes  ;  although  flourishing,  even  in  Blackletter, 
is  an  amusement  that  should  be  indulged  in  cautiously. 
As  a  general  rule  the  more  solidly  black  a  panel  of  Black- 
letter  is  the  better  (a  principle  too  often  disregarded  in 
the  modern  use  of  the  form);  though  on  the  other  hand, 


mnopqnfstu 


14C.   GERMAN  BLACKLETTERS       WITH  ROUNDED  ANGLES 

the  less  legible  the  individual  letters  will  become.  The 
designer  should  therefore  endeavor  to  steer  a  middle  course, 
making  his  panel  as  black  as  he  can  without  rendering  the 
individual  letters  illegible. 

No  style  permits  more  of  liberty  in  the  treatment  of  its 
separate  letter  forms  than  the  Blackletter.  The  same  letter 
may  require  a  different  outline  at  the  beginning  of  a  word 
than  in  the  middle  or  at  the  end.  The  ascenders  and 
descenders  may  be  drawn  so  short  as  hardly  to  transcend 
the  guide  lines  of  the  minuscules,  or  may  grow  into  flour- 


130  GOTHIC     LETTERS 

ishes  up  and  down,  to  the  right  or  to  the  left,  to  fill 
awkward  blanks.  Indeed  so  variable  are  these  forms  that 
in  ancient  examples  it  is  often  difficult  to  recognize  an 
individual  letter  apart  from  its  context. 

The  two  pages  drawn  by  Mr.  Goodhue,  188  and  189, 
deserve  careful  study  as  examples  of  modern  use  of  the 
Blackletter.  It  will  be  observed  that  almost  as  many  vari- 
ants of  each  letter  are  employed  as  the  number  used  would 
permit,  thus  giving  the  panel  variety  and  preventing  any 
appearance  of  monotony  or  rigidity.  Notice  the  freedom 
and  variety  of  the  swash  lines  in  the  capitals,  and  yet  that 
each  version  is  quite  as  graceful,  logical  and  original  as  any 
of  its  variants. 

The  examples  of  old  lettering  reproduced  in  figures  147, 
148  and  149,  together  with  the  drawings  by  Mr.  Goodhue, 
will  indicate  the  proper  spacing  of  Blackletter;  but  in  most 
of  the  pages  here  devoted  to  illustrating  the  individual  forms 
the  letters  have  been  spaced  too  wide  for  their  proper  effect 
that  each  separate  shape  might  be  shown  distinctly.  The 
style  appears  at  its  best  in  compositions  which  fill  a  panel  of 
more  or  less  geometrical  form,  as,  for  example,  the  beautiful 
title-page  reproduced  in  147.  Could  anything  be  more 
delightful  to  the  eye  than  its  rich  blackness,  energetic  lines, 
and  refreshing  virility  ?  In  this  design  surely  we  have  a 
specimen  that,  from  the  proportion  and  balance  of  its 
blacks,  is  more  effective  than  anything  which  could  have 
been  accomplished  by  the  use  of  the  more  rigid  Roman 
letter;  but  despite  its  many  beauties  it  suffers  from  the 
inherent  weakness  of  the  individual  letter  forms, —  it  is 
more  effective  than  readable  ! 

Another  excellent  example  of  the  old  use  of  Blackletter 
is  the  page  from  the  prayerbook  of  the  Emperor  Maximilian, 


GOTHIC     LETTERS  137 


147.    ITALIAN  BLACKLETTER  TITLE-PAGE         JACOPUS  FORESTI,  1497 


138 


GOTHIC     LETTERS 


shown  in  148,  in  which  observe  again  the  variety  of  the 
individual  letter  forms.  Figure  149  shows  the  use  of  a 
Blackletter  on  an  admirable  monumental  brass,  which  is 


tw:ct  qtia(t  plautimo  rofc  m 


fiau  amamontunt  ct 

— -- "  - '•  —  ...•   '.  •" •  •!•!..— 


mum 


148.  GERMAN  BLACKLETTER  PAGE       ALBRECHT  DURER,  1515 


reputed  to  have  been  designed  by  Albrecht  Diirer.  A 
similar  Blackletter  form,  also  from  a  brass,  is  shown  at 
larger  scale  in  186. 


GOTHIC     LETTERS 


139 


Any  of  the  min- 
uscule forms  of 
Blackletter  which 
have  been  illus- 
trated may  be  used 
with  the  Gothic 
capitals  of  figures 
164-5,  1 66,  177, 
179,  185,  188-9; 
or  with  such  Un- 
cial capitals  as  are 
illustrated  in  155 
to  162;  care  being 
taken,  of  course, 
that  these  capitals 
are  made  to  agree 
in  style  and  weight 
with  the  small  let- 
ters chosen.  Al- 
though Uncial 
capitals  are  histor- 
ically more  close- 
ly allied  with  the 
Round  Gothic, 
we  have  abundant 
precedent  for  their 
use  with  the  min- 
uscule Blackletter  in  many  of  the  best  medieval  specimens. 
When  the  Gothic  Uncial  capitals  were  cut  in  stone  and 
marble  there  was  naturally  a  corresponding  change  in  char- 
acter, as  is  shown  in  the  Italian  examples  illustrated  in  160 


140.    GERMAN  MEMORIAL  BRASS 


MEISSEN,  1510 


140  GOTHIC     LETTERS 

and  161.  These  examples,  which  are  reproduced  from 
rubbings,  exhibit  the  characteristic  stone  cut  forms  very 
clearly.  A  Gothic  Uncial  alphabet  redrawn  from  a  Ger- 
man brass  is  illustrated  in  162.  The  group  of  specimens 
from  154  to  159  exhibit  the  chronological  growth  of  the 
Uncial  capitals,  which  were  used,  as  has  been  said,  with 
the  various  small  Blackletter  forms,  though  they  were  also 
used  alone  to  form  words,  as  is  shown  in  160.  The 
historical  progression  in  these  Uncial  examples  is  most 
interesting;  and,  allowing  for  the  variations  of  national 
temperament,  traces  itself  connectedly  enough.  Figures 
154  to  159  are  pen  forms,  while  160  to  163  are  from 
stone  or  metal-cut  letters. 

Figures  164  to  166  show  alphabets  of  Gothic  pen-drawn 
capitals  that  will  serve  as  a  basis  for  such  adaptations  as  are 
shown  in  the  modern  examples  152  and  153.  Figures  167 
to  169  show  a  more  elaborate  but  an  excellent  and  typical 
variety  of  this  form  of  capital,  which  is  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  and  distinctive  of  Gothic  letters.  Shorn  of  its 
fussy  small  lines  the  main  skeleton  is  eminently  virile;  and, 
though  extremely  difficult  to  draw,  it  cannot  be  surpassed 
for  certain  limited  uses.  Figures  170  to  173  exhibit  a 
group  of  Gothic  capitals  more  or  less  allied  in  character 
and  all  pen  letters.  Figures  174  to  176  show  forms  similar 
to  those  of  the  previous  group,  but  adapted  for  use  in  various 
materials. 

Figures  177  to  179  show  some  English  Gothic  letters, 
the  last  being  that  employed  so  effectively  in  the  pen-drawn 
page  by  Mr.  Abbey,  153.  Figures  180  to  184  illustrate 
various  forms  of  Blackletter:  180  is  from  a  German  brass, 
182  illustrates  an  Italian  pen  form,  and  183  and  184  show 


GOTHIC     LETTERS 


141 


Blackletters  drawn  oy  Albrecht 
Diirer,  the  latter  being  the  sim- 
plest and  strongest  variant  in 
this  style.  It  is  the  same  let- 
ter that  is  employed  to  show 
Blackletter  construction  in 
diagram  144.  Figure  185 
shows  the  well-known  and 
unusually  beautiful  initials 
designed  by  Diirer.  Figure 
1 86  is  a  Blackletter  from  an 
English  brass,  although  the 
letter  forms  in  this  example, 
as  well  as  those  of  many  other 
English  brasses,  may  perhaps 
have  been  derived  from  Flan- 
ders, as  many  of  the  finest  early 
Continental  brasses  were  im- 
ported from  the  Netherlands. 
The  Italian  forms  of  Gothic 

Blackletters  are  generally  too  fussy  and  finikin  to  be  of 
practical  value  for  modern  use,  though  they  often  possess 
suggestive  value.  The  letters  shown  in  182  are  fairly 
typical  of  the  characteristic  Blackletter  minuscules  of  Italy. 
Figure  187  exhibits  an  example  of  beautiful  lettering  in  the 
Italian  style,  redrawn  from  a  rubbing  of  an  inlaid  floor-slab 
in  Santa  Croce,  Florence.  The  omission  of  capitals  in  long, 
confined  lines  is  typical  of  many  Blackletter  inscriptions,  as 
may  be  seen  in  149,  as  well  as  in  the  plate  just  mentioned. 
In  view  of  the  number  of  fine  specimens  of  Blackletter 
which  have  been  handed  down  to  us,  it  has  been  deemed 


150.    MODERN     AMERICAN     COVER 
IN   BLACKLETTER       B.  G.  GOODHUE 


142 


GOTHIC     LETTERS 


unnecessary  to  reproduce  many  examples  of  its  employment 
by  modern  draughtsmen.  The  pages  by  Mr.  Goodhue, 
188-9,  nave  already  been  referred  to;  and  figure  150 


151.  MODERN  GERMAN  BLACKLETTER     WALTER  PUTTNER 

shows  a  very  consistent  and  representative  use  of  similar 
letter  forms  by  the  same  designer.  Figures  190  and  191 
illustrate  two  modern  varieties  of  Blackletter,  one  very 


npwrni 
ptei 

Munirrn 


152.   MODERN  GERMAN  BLACKLETTER 


OTTO  HUPP 


simple  and  the  other  very  ornate.  The  small  cuts,  151 
and  152,  show  excellent  modern  Blackletters  ;  the  first,  of 
unusually  narrow  form,  being  by  Herr  Walter  Puttner,  and 
the  second,  with  its  flourished  initials,  by  Herr  Otto  Hupp. 


GOTHIC     LETTERS 


143 


153.  MODERN  BLACKLETTER 


EDWIN  A.  ABBEY 


GOTHIC     LETTERS 


154.  UNCIAL  GOTHIC  INITIALS 


12th  CENTURY.    F.  C.  B. 


GOTHIC     LETTERS  145 


B  CD6( 


n 


15.-,.   UNCIAL  GOTHIC  INITIALS  "13th  CENTURY.    F.  C.  B. 


146  GOTHIC     LETTERS 


71*3  CD  €( 


156.   UNCIAL  GOTHIC  CAPITALS  14th  CENTURY.    F.  C.  B. 


GOTHIC     LETTERS  147 


1.".   UNCIAL  GOTHIC  CAPITALS  14th  CENTURY.    F.  C.  B. 


148  GOTHIC     LETTERS 


CO 


OPQB 
STCJV 

IUXYZ 


158.    ITALIAN  UNCIAL  GOTHIC  CAPITALS        14th  CKNTURY.     F.  C.  B. 


GOTHIC     LETTERS  149 

BGO(O 

aeon 


QOQQ 

neoa 


159.    SPANISH  UNCIAL  GOTHIC  CAPITALS  JUAN  DB  YCIAR,  1550 


GOTHIC     LETTERS  151 


MJKMWO 


161.  VENETIAN  GOTHIC  CAPITALS  16th  CENTURY.    F.  C.  B. 


152  GOTHIC     LETTERS 


JIBCD 


ttdffiOP 
OJRSW 


162.  GERMAN  UNCIAL  CAPITALS,  FROM  A  BRASS  14th  CfXTURY 


GOTHIC     LETTERS 


153 


•J  lAit  \JL 


163.  FRENCH  AND  SPANISH  UNCIAL  CAPITALS  14th  CENTURY 


154  GOTHIC     LETTERS 


164.  ITALIAN  GOTHIC  INITIALS  G.  A.  TAGLIENTE.  16th  CENTURY 


GOTHIC     LETTERS  155 


mi.   ITALIAN*  GOTHIC  INITIALS  G.  A.  TAGLIENTE,  16th  CENTURY 


156 


GOTHIC     LETTERS 


ICC.   ITALIAN  GOTHIC  INITIALS  GIOV.  PALATINO,  ICth  CENTURY 


160  GOTHIC     LETTERS 


H5QPQ 


170.  ITALIAN  GOTHIC  CAPITALS  16th  CENTURY 


— ^ 
GOTHIC     LETTERS  161 


€ 


a 


171.  ENGLISH  GOTHIC  CAPITALS 


16th  CENTURY 


162  GOTHIC     LETTERS 


172.   ITALIAN  GOTHIC  CAPITALS 


17th  CENTURY 


GOTHIC     LETTERS  163 


173.  GERMAN  GOTHIC  CAPITALS  17th  CENTURY 


164 


GOTHIC     LETTERS 


174.   GERMAN  GOTHIC  CAPITALS 


FROM  MANUSCRIPTS 


GOTHIC     LETTERS  165 


175.  GERMAN  GOTHIC  CAPITALS  FROM  MANUSCRIPTS 


166  GOTHIC     LETTERS 


176.   GERMAN  GOTHIC  CAPITALS  FROM  MANUSCRIPTS 


GOTHIC     LETTERS  167 


"  letter 


177.    ENGLISH  GOTHIC  TEXT  LETTERS  FROM  MANUSCRIPTS 


168  GOTHIC     LETTERS 


IJKI/ffillOF 


178.   ENGLISH  GOTHIC  LETTERS  15th  CENTURY.    F.  C.  B. 


GOTHIC     LETTERS  169 


179.   ENGLISH  GOTHIC  LETTERS  15th  CENTURY.    F.C.R 


170  GOTHIC     LETTERS 


180.   GERMAN  BLACKLETTERS  FROM  A  BRASS  F.  C.  B. 


GOTHIC     LETTERS  171 


rauwmp 


181.   GERMAN  BLACKLETTERS  16th  CENTURY.    F.C.B. 


172 


GOTHIC     LETTERS 


mmiutflDi 


v-; -k 


& 


182.    ITALIAN  BLACKLKTTERS  G.  A.  TAGLIENTE,  16th  CENTURY 


GOTHIC     LETTERS  173 


183.    GFRMAN  BLACKLETTERS          ALBRF.CHT  DURER  16th  CENTURY 


174  GOTHIC     LETTERS 

Oarr  r  a 


brOffjrtiijk 


GERMAN  BLACKLETTERS  ALBRECHT  DURER,  16th  CENTURY 


GOTHIC     LETTERS  175 


185.  GERMAN  GOTHIC  CAPITALS     ALBRECHT  DURER,  16th  CENTURY 


176  GOTHIC     LETTERS 


a 

DPfSttUfel 

timopacs 

WtJlBJPU? 


186.   ENGLISH  GOTHIC  BLACKLETTERS  15th  CENTURY.    F.C.  B. 


GOTHIC     LETTERS  177 


tiniHtaiian 
awriwui 

MmnnwiJt- 


187.   ITALIAN  INLAID  BLACKLETTERS  FROM  A  RUBBING.   F.C.  B, 


178  GOTHIC     LETTERS 


188.  MODERN  AMERICAN  BLACKLETTERS  B.  G.  GOODHUE 


GOTHIC     LETTERS  179 


teaujE-sfflTe 


189.    MODERN  AMERICAN  BLACKLETTERS  B.  G.  GOODHUE 


180  GOTHIC     LETTERS 


tffffr::a6ro 


ppuuixp 

1Z:1Z3 

7456*3 


lf)0.   MODERN  GERMAN  BLACKLETTERS  AFTER  JULIUS  DIEZ 


GOTHIC     LETTERS  181 


I'.il.    MODERN  GERMAN  BLACKLKTTERS,  FLOURISHED  F.  C.  B 


CHAPTER     IV 

ITALIC    AND    SCRIPT 

The  regrettable  modern  neglect  of  those  free  and  very 
interesting  forms  of  the  Roman  letter,  Italic  and  Script, 
seem  to  authorize  consideration  of  them  in  a  separate 
chapter,  even  at  the  risk  of  appearing  to  give  them  undue 
importance. 

The  first  Italic  type  letter  was  derived,  it  is  said,  from 
the  handwriting  of  Petrarch,  and  several  admirable  examples 
of  the  style,  variously  treated,  have  come  down  to  us.  As 
far  as  construction  goes  Italic  is,  theoretically,  only  the 
exact  Roman  form  sloped,  and  with  such  changes  as  are 
necessitated  by  the  sloping  of  the  letters.  Practically,  how- 
ever, it  will  be  found  that  certain  alterations  in  the  outlines 
of  the  Roman  letters  must  be  made  after  giving  them  a  slope 
in  order  to  adapt  them  to  their  new  requirements  of  inter- 
juxtaposition  ;  and,  by  a  reflex  action,  when  words  in  Italic 
capitals  are  used  in  the  same  panel  with  upright  Roman 
letters,  certain  variations  must  be  made  in  the  latter,  such 
as  accenting  the  Roman  O  in  the  same  fashion  as  the  Italic 
O  is  accented,  an  altered  treatment  of  serifs,  and  other 
changes  in  detail. 

The  Script  form  of  letter  was  developed  out  of  the 
running  or  writing  hand,  and  still  retains  a  cursive  tendency 
in  the  linking  together  of  its  letters ;  although  in  some 
forms  it  so  closely  approximates  to  Italic  as  to  be  almost 


ITALIC     AND     SCRIPT 


183 


indistinguishable  from  it.  Script  lettering  came  into  its 
greatest  vogue  during  the  Georgian  period  in  England  and 
at  the  same  time  in  France;  and  was  extensively  employed, 
usually  in  conjunction  with  the  upright  Roman,  in  carved 
panels  of  stone  or  wood,  and  in  engraving.  The  Script 


ILIW'lf 

JnlAJL 


192.   GERMAN  ITALIC 


GOTTLIEB  MUNCH,  1744 


forms  are  well  worthy  of  the  attention  of  modern  designers 
since  they  offer  unusual  opportunities  for  freedom  and 
individuality  of  treatment;  and  because  of  this  vitality 
and  adaptility  to  modern  uses  the  present  chapter  will  be 
devoted  largely  to  the  illustration  of  Script  examples. 

The  old  Spanish  and  Italian  writing-books  (referred  to  in 
a  previous  chapter),  which  in  a  measure  took  the  place  filled 
so  much  less  artistically  to-day  by  our  modern  school  copy- 
books, contain  many  specimens  of  beautiful  Script,  both 
capitals  and  small  letters.  Figures  193  to  196  show  pages 
from  such  books  published  in  Spain. 


184 


ITALIC     AND     SCRIPT 


iiiimiiililtitllltMlltllllllTrtm 


— - — f — f     f     f  i^/     f — +••  4    -f — / — / — 4—4 

u  tin 


a 


i  nn  1 1  mi  i  in/mi  mrn 


193.  SPANISH  SCRIPT 


TORQUATO  TORIO,  1802 


ITALIC     AND     SCRIPT  185 


encore  tamt 
duoii  aut  sonpcre  tio 

run 


conaiicru}  et  cointm  on 


194.  SPANISH  SCRIPTS 


TORQUATO  TORIO.  1802 


186  ITALIC     AND     SCRIPT 


Qmrotedominafancta 

Mam  matvr  Davietate 

pbnipima,  fummi  mis  fi 
i  J      J.       Z)  ^ 

(id, 

tor  orpba/norum,  con  fold  * 

i    r 

no  dcfolatorum,vid  crratv 


r 
ucas  wefcmtm&n 

Jbcx 


195.   SPANISH  SCRIPT  FRANCISCO  LUCAS,  1577 


ITALIC     AND     SCRIPT  187 


I    JC/ 


Oseno:  con  Summaomouon.con 
abiasaoo  amen,  con  roao  rmafeao 
te  »cs$coyorcce6u:como  rnuuos 

Saarosvoeuotas  pcisonas  rcocssca 

ion  en  la  comunion:que 

o          •*• 

ion  mui  mucno  cnla 

*vioa  y  uiuiaon  7)euocion  cvioentissi 

ma.  Oaios 


CD  i/scx. : 


196.  SPANISH  CURSIVE  FRANCISCO  LUCAS,  157 


188  ITALIC     AND     SCRIPT 

/")  TJTS  A  N^Tl*1*  ^   simP^e  tvPe  °f  Spanish 

capital  Script  letter  is  shown 
lOnyJlOpe  m  20I>  while  a  corresponding 
*^'  small  letter,  redrawn  from  a 

Spanish    source,   is    illustrated 
*  ~.1i      ~~7/~jj  m  2O2.     It  should  be  noted  in 

fefc,  Ofter  JfcAfe*       the  Jatter  figure  that  the  three 

lower  lines  are  further  removed 

197.    MODERN    AMERICAN   TITLES 

CLAUDE  FAYETTE  BRAGDON          from  the  ordinary  writing  hand 

and  are  more  interesting  than 
the  letters  in  the  three  upper  lines. 

The  French  artists  and  engravers  were,  as  has  been  said, 
among  the  first  to  appreciate  the  qualities  of  Script,  and  used 
it  in  many  of  their  engraved  title-pages,  especially  during 
the  reigns  of  Louis  xv.  and  xvi.  Figure  199  shows  a  set 
of  French  Script  capitals  of  the  time  of  Louis  xv.,  highly 
flourished  but  more  formal  than  those  shown  in  201. 

A  form  of  Script  very  nearly  allied  to  the  Italic  was 
frequently  used  for  the  lettering  on  headstones  and  wall 
tombs  in  the  churches  and  churchyards  of  England.  Figure 
203,  in  which  the  lettering  is 
taken  from  a  tomb  in  West- 
minster Abbey,  illustrates  this 
style  of  Script. 

A  set  of  Script  small  letters 
with  some  unusual  character- 
istics, adapted  by  Hrachowina 
from  the  German  Renaissance 
form  shown  in  outline  in  192, 
is  exhibited  as  a  solid  letter  in 

198.    MODERN    AMERICAN   TITLE 
figure     2OO.  GEORGE  WHARTON  EDWARDS 


ITALIC     AND     SCRIPT  189 


C/5 


199.   FRENCH  SCRIPT  CAPITALS  18th  CENTURY.    F.C.  B. 


190  ITALIC     AND     SCRIPT 


ff 
opqr/stiw 


200.   GERMAN  SCRIPT  AFTER  HRACHOWINA  18th  CENTURY 


ITALIC     AND     SCRIPT  191 


201.   SPANISH  SCRIPT  CAPITALS  EARLY  13th  CENTURY.    F.  C.  B 


192  ITALIC     AND     SCRIPT 


202.   SPANISH  SCRIPT  ALPHABETS  LATE  17th  CENTURY.    F.  C.  B. 


ITALIC     AND     SCRIPT  193 


afcdefqnij 

pr    (L/C/  Jr 

klmnopar/ 


J.   ENGLISH  INCISED  SCRIPT  FROM  INSCRIPTIONS.    F.  C.  B. 


194 


ITALIC     AND     SCRIPT 


Among  modern  American 
designers,  Mr.  Bruce  Rogers  has 
admirably  succeeded  in  catching 
the  French  and  Georgian  spirit 
in  his  treatment  of  the  Script 
characters ;  yet,  nevertheless, 
his  lettering  in  this  style  is  still 
modern  in  feeling.  In  the  title 
from  a  book  cover,  204,  Mr. 
Rogers  has  allowed  himself  just 
the  proper  amount  of  interlace- 
ment and  flourishing  —  both  of 
which  require  the  restraint  of  a 
subtle  taste  or  the  result  may 
prove  to  be  over-elaborate.  The 
page  of  lettering  by  the  same 
designer,  shown  in  205,  is  a 
successful  solution  of  a  difficult 

204.   MODERN    AMERICAN    TITLE  .   . 

BRUCE  ROGERS  problem,  and,  together  with 

the  book  cover,  will  serve  to 
exhibit  the  possibilities  of  this  style  of  Script. 

Mr.  George  Wharton  Edwards  is  another  modern 
designer  who  has  a  penchant  for  the  Script  form.  He  uses 
one  distinctive  and  personal  style  of  it  in  which  the  larger 
letters  are  formed  by  two  black  lines  separated  by  a  narrow 
white  space,  as  exhibited  in  198. 

The  lines  from  an  advertisement,  197,  by  Mr.  Claude 
Fayette  Bragdon,  in  which  Script,  Italic  and  Roman  letters 
are  combined,  are  of  especial  interest  from  the  easy  man- 
ner in  which  the  three  different  styles  have  been  adapted 
to  each  other  and  made  to  harmonize  in  one  small  panel, 


@/ximeC 
mt/wrne 


ITALIC     AND     SCRIPT  195 


s  xv  s  time*. 


205.   MODERN  AMKR1CAX  SCRIPT  PRUCE  ROGERS 


196  ITALIC     AND     SCRIPT 


206.   MODERN  AMERICAN  SCRIPT  AFTER  FRANK  HAZEXPLUG 


ITALIC     AND     SCRIPT  197 


ITALIC 
LEffEKS 


RSfUVWXY 


WJfIZS 


207.   MODERN  AMERICAN  ITALIC  CAPITALS  F.C.  B. 


198  ITALIC     AND     SCRIPT 

while  still  preserving  an  appropriate  Georgian  aspect. 
The  interlacement  and  flourishing,  too,  are  handled  with 
commendable  restraint. 


208.  MODERN  AMERICAN  TITLE  ANONYMOUS 

Few  modern  artists  have  so  successfully  treated  Italic 
capitals  with  Script  freedom  as  Mr.  Will  Bradley.  Some- 
times employing  forms  of  Italic  capitals  and  small  letters 
little  removed  from  type,  he  will  again  give  us  an  example 
of  his  handiwork  in  which  Italic  is  used  with  examplary 
freedom,  as  is  shown  in  the  specimen  from  a  book  cata- 
logue, 109.  The  modern  trick  of  wide  spacing  often  lends 
itself  aptly  to  the  swing  and  freedom  of  the  swashed  and 
flourished  lines  of  Script,  as  may  be  seen  in  figure  207. 


209.  MODERN  AMERICAN  TITLE  EDWARD  PENFIELD 


An  excellent  modern  Script  letter,  adapted  from  a  design 
by  Mr.  Frank  Hazenplug,  is  shown  in  206.  Its  heavy  face 
and  originality  of  form  make  it  a  useful  and  pleasing  variant. 

The  magazine  heading,  by  an  anonymous  designer,  208, 
and  the  line  from  the  pen  of  Mr.  Edward  Penfield,  209, 
suggest  still  other  useful  varieties  of  the  Script  form. 


CHAPTER     V 

TO     THE     BEGINNER 

The  beginner  in  any  art  or  craft  is  likely  to  have  an  undue 
respect  for  the  mere  instruments  of  his  trade.  He  will 
eventually  learn  that  tools  play  a  much  less  important  part 
in  his  work  than  he  at  first  thinks ;  but,  as  it  is  unlikely 
that  any  sudden  change  in  human  nature  will  occur,  it 
seems  as  well  to  devote  here  some  consideration  to  the 
tools  which  the  student  will  always  believe  to  be  an  impor- 
tant part  of  his  equipment.  He  will  ultimately  ascertain  for 
himself  what  is  best  adapted  to  his  own  individual  needs. 

Though  every  draughtsman  will  recommend  a  pen  that 
he  has  discovered  to  be  especially  suitable  for  his  own  use, 
few  will  be  found  to  agree.  Perhaps  it  is  safe  to  say, 
however,  that  the  best  all-round  pen  for  lettering  is  the 
Gillot  No.  303.  It  is  not  too  sharp,  and  when  broken 
in  is  flexible  and  easy.  The  crowquill  pen  will  be  found 
of  little  use.  It  is  an  advantage  to  have  at  hand  a  large 
coarse  pen  of  little  flexibility  and  smooth  point  for  drawing 
heavy  lines  of  even  width.  In  using  water-color  in  place 
of  ink  such  a  pen  will  be  found  more  satisfactory  than  the 
Gillot  303,  as  the  thinness  of  the  fluid  causes  the  line 
to  spread  whenever  pressure  is  applied  to  a  limber  and 
finely  pointed  pen,  with  the  result  that  the  line  is  not  only 
broadened,  but  when  dry  shows  darker  than  was  intended, 
as  more  color  is  deposited  than  in  a  narrow  line.  When  a 


200  TO     THE     BEGINNER 

narrow  line  of  even  width  and  sharpness  is  desired  it  is 
best  to  use  a  new  penj  an  older  pen  will,  on  the  other 
hand,  allow  of  more  ease  in  swelling  and  broadening  the 
line  under  pressure.  A  thin  dry  line  may  be  obtained  by 
turning  the  pen  over  and  drawing  with  the  back  of  the  nib, 
although  if  the  pen  so  used  be  worn  it  is  apt  to  have  a 
"burr"  over  the  point  that  may  prevent  its  working  satis- 
factorily in  this  way.  A  new  hard  pen  is  likely  to  be  the 
cause  of  a  "niggling"  line;  a  too  limber  one  of  a  careless 
or  undesirably  broad  line.  On  rare  occasions,  and  for 
obtaining  certain  effects,  a  stub  pen  may  be  found  of  value, 
but  it  cannot  be  recommended  to  the  beginner,  as  it  is  very 
difficult  to  find  one  that  has  sufficient  flexibility  of  nib. 
Quill  pens  are  undoubtedly  useful  in  drawing  a  few  types 
of  letters  (see  some  of  the  designs  by  Mr.  Walter  Crane 
shown  in  previous  pages,  for  examples)  but,  not  to  allude  to 
the  difficulty  of  properly  pointing  a  quill,  which  seems  to  be 
a  well-nigh  lost  art  nowadays,  the  instrument  possesses  so 
many  annoying  peculiarities  that  it  is  as  well  to  avoid  its 
use  until  a  satisfactory  command  over  the  more  dependable 
steel  pens  has  been  obtained. 

A  pencil  is,  of  course,  a  necessity  in  laying  out  the  first 
scheme  for  lettering.  The  softer  the  pencil  the  more  felic- 
itous will  the  composition  seem ;  but  the  beginner  should 
guard  against  being  too  easily  pleased  with  the  effect  thus 
obtained,  as  it  is  often  due  to  the  deceptive  indefiniteness 
of  line  and  pleasant  gray  tone.  When  inked-in,  in  uncom- 
promising black  against  the  white  paper,  the  draughtsman 
is  apt  to  find  that  his  sketch  has  developed  many  an  imper- 
fection, both  in  composition  and  in  individual  letter  shapes, 
that  the  vague  pencil  lines  did  not  reveal. 


TO     THE     BEGINNER  201 

As  to  paper,  Bristol-board  has  the  best  smooth  surface 
for  lettering.  The  English  board  is  in  some  ways  better 
than  the  American,  but  has  the  disadvantage  of  being  made 
in  smaller  sheets.  The  difficulty  with  any  smooth  board  is 
that  erasures,  even  of  pencil  lines,  are  likely  to  spoil  its 
surface.  The  rough  "  Strathmore  "  American  board  has  a 
very  grateful  surface  upon  which  the  pen  may  be  used  with 
almost  as  much  freedom  as  the  pencil.  All  rough  surfaces, 
however,  while  tending  to  promote  interesting  lines,  are  not 
suited  for  careful  lettering,  and  the  classic  and  Italian  forms 
especially  require  to  be  drawn  upon  the  smoothest  possible 
surface.  The  American  "  Strathmore  "  board  may  also  be 
obtained  in  smooth  finish;  and,  indeed,  is  less  injured  by 
erasures  than  most  Bristol-boards. 

The  prepared  India  or  carbon  inks  such  as  "  Higgin's  " 
or  "  Carter's "  are  best  for  the  beginner ;  although  all 
prepared  inks  have  a  tendency  to  get  muddy  if  allowed 
to  stand  open,  and  the  so-called  "waterproof"  inks  are 
easily  smudged. 

In  devising  a  panel  of  lettering,  such  as  a  title-page  for 
example,  the  draughtsman's  first  step  would  naturally  be  to 
sketch  out  the  whole  design  at  a  very  small  size,  say  an 
inch  and  a  half  high,  in  pencil.  This  small  sketch  should 
determine,  first,  the  general  balance  of  the  page;  second, 
the  inter-relations  and  spacings  of  the  various  lines  and 
words  and  their  relative  importance  and  sizes.  From  this 
thumb-nail  sketch  the  design  should  be  drawn  out  at  full 
size  in  pencil,  and  much  more  carefully.  In  this  redrawing 
the  separate  letter  shapes  and  their  harmonious  relations  to 
each  other  should  be  determined,  and  such  deviations  made 
from  the  smaller  sketch  as  seem  to  benefit  the  effect. 


202  TO     THE     BEGINNER 

Some  draughtsmen  sketch  out  each  line  of  lettering  sepa- 
rately on  thin  paper,  and  then,  after  blackening  the  back  of 
this  sheet,  lay  each  line  over  the  place  where  it  is  needed 
in  the  design,  tracing  the  outlines  of  the  letters  with  a  hard 
point,  and  thus  transferring  them  to  the  design  beneath. 
In  this  way  a  page  of  lettering  may  be  studied  out  line  by 
line,  and  accurately  placed  or  centered ;  but  the  process  is 
tedious,  and  there  is  always  danger  of  losing  sight  of  the 
effect  as  a  whole. 

In  outlining  letters  which  are  ultimately  intended  to  be 
solidly  blacked-in,  the  beginner  should  guard  against  making 
his  outlines  too  wide,  especially  as  regards  the  thin  lines, 
for  the  eye  in  judging  an  outline  sketch  follows  the  insides 
of  the  bounding  lines  rather  than  the  outsides  which  will 
really  be  the  outlines  of  the  blacked-in  letter,  so  that  when 
finished  the  letter  is  likely  to  look  heavier  and  more  clumsy 
than  in  the  sketch. 

When  the  entire  pencil  scheme  seems  satisfactory  in 
every  detail,  and  each  line  has  been  exactly  determined,  the 
whole  should  be  carefully  inked-in.  In  inking-in  letters 
the  swing  of  the  arm  should  be  as  free  and  unobstructed  as 
possible.  For  the  best  result  it  is  absolutely  necessary  to 
work  at  a  wide  board  on  a  solid  table  of  convenient  height 
and  angle.  It  is  impossible  to  letter  well  in  a  cramped  or 
unsteady  position.  One  thing  cannot  be  too  strongly  urged 
upon  the  beginner.  Never  use  a  T-square,  triangle  or 
ruling  pen  in  inking-in  lettering.  It  will  be  found  ulti- 
mately much  easier  to  train  hand  and  eye  to  make  a  straight 
and  true  line  free-hand  than  to  attempt  to  satisfactorily 
combine  a  ruled  and  free-hand  line.  The  free-hand 
method  is,  be  it  acknowledged,  both  more  lengthy  and 


TO     THE     BEGINNER  203 

difficult  at  first,  but  when  the  draughtsman  does  finally 
gain  a  mastery  over  his  line  he  has  achieved  something 
which  he  will  find  of  the  greatest  value. 

In  a  drawing  to  be  reproduced  by  mechanical  processes, 
the  proportions  of  the  design  are,  of  course,  unalterably 
determined  by  the  required  panel  or  page ;  but  the  size  of 
the  drawing  may  be  such  as  best  suits  the  inclination  and 
convenience  of  the  draughtsman.  If  the  drawing  is  to  be 
reduced  in  size  (and  that  is  the  usual  method,  because,  in 
general,  it  is  easier  to  draw  large  rather  than  small),  the 
draughtsman  must  first  decide  on  the  amount  of  reduction 
to  which  his  style  of  rendering  and  the  subject  itself  are 
best  adapted,  remembering,  however,  that  a  drawing  is  sure 
to  suffer  from  excessive  reduction,  not  only  in  general 
effect  but  in  interest,  for  the  quality  of  the  line  is  sure  in  a 
measure  to  disappear.  A  reduction  of  height  or  width  by 
one-third  is  the  usual  amount;  but  many  of  our  modern 
designers  obtain  their  best  effects  by  making  their  drawings 
but  a  trifle  larger  than  the  required  reproduction.  Some 
even  make  their  drawings  of  the  same  size;  others  only 
from  a  twelfth  to  a  sixth  larger.  As  a  rule,  the  less  the 
reduction  the  less  the  departure  from  the  effect  of  the 
original,  and  the  more  certainly  satisfactory  the  result, 
although  more  careful  drawing  and  greater  exactness  of 
line  are  necessary. 

To  keep  the  outlines  of  a  panel  in  the  same  proportion 
while  enlarging  its  area  for  the  purpose  of  making  a  draw- 
ing for  reproduction,  lay  out  the  required  finished  size  of  the 
panel  near  the  upper  left  hand  corner  of  the  paper,  and  draw 
a  diagonal  line  through  the  upper  left  hand  and  lower  right 
hand  corner  of  this  panel,  extending  it  beyond  the  panel 


204 


TO     THE     BEGINNER 


x  i 


210.    DIAGRAM    TO    SHOW  METHOD 
OF  ENLARGING  A  PANEL 


boundaries.  From  any  given 
point  along  this  diagonal,  lines 
drawn  parallel  to  the  side  and 
top  lines  of  the  original  panel, 
and  extended  till  they  intersect 
the  extended  left  side  line  and 
top  line  of  the  original  panel, 
will  give  an  outline  of  the  same 
proportions  as  the  required 
panel.  By  taking  various 
points  on  the  diagonal,  panels 
of  any  height  or  width  but  still 
of  the  proper  proportions  may 
be  obtained  (see  diagram  210). 
Diagram  211  illustrates  a  vari- 
ation of  the  previous  method 

of  enlarging  the  proportions  of  a  panel,  in  which,  by  the 
use  of  two  diagonals,  both  perpendicular  and  horizontal 
center  lines  are  retained. 

When  it  is  necessary  to  lay  out  a  border  of  a  predeter- 
mined width  within  the  required  panel,  the  foregoing  method 
can  only,  be  used  to  determine  the  outside  lines  of  such  a 
border,  and  it  becomes  necessary  to  make  the  drawing  some 
numerical  proportion,  say,  one-half  as  large  again,  or  twice 
as  large  as  the  finished  panel.  The  width  of  the  border 
will  then  be  of  the  same  proportionate  width. 

The  beginner  will  find  it  always  wise  to  base  his  lettering 
on  penciled  top  and  bottom  guide  lines,  and  occasionally  to 
add  "waist"  guide  lines,  as  in  193.      Indeed,  it  is  rare  that 
even  accomplished  letterers  dispense  with  these  simple  aids 
These   guide   lines    should   invariably  be   laid-in   with   the 


TO     THE     BEGINNER 


205 


211.    DIAGRAM    TO    SHOW   METHOD 
OF  ENLARGING  A  PANEL 


T-square  and  triangle.  After 
drawing  the  horizontal  guides, 
it  is  often  advisable  to  run  a 
few  perpendicular  lines  up  and 
down  the  paper,  which  will 
serve  to  guard  against  the  very 
common  likelihood  of  the 
letters  acquiring  a  tilt.  In 
drawing  Italic,  Script,  and  all 
sloping  letters,  numerous  slop- 
ing guide  lines  are  especially 
necessary;  see  193.  Perpen- 
dicular guide  lines  will  be 
found  of  marked  assistance, 
also  in  drawing  Gothic  small 
letters,  which,  as  they  do  not 

come  against  the  top  and  bottom  guide  lines  squarely,  but 
at  an  angle,  are  often  deceptive. 

If  it  is  desirable  to  make  two  lines  of  lettering  of  the 
same  length,  although  they  contain  an  unequal  number  of 
letters,  this  may  be  effected  —  provided,  of  course,  that  the 
number  of  letters  does  not  vary  too  greatly — by  broaden- 
ing or  narrowing  the  letters  that  occur  in  one  line  but  not 
in  the  other,  and  by  varying  the  spacings  about  the  I's  and 
the  open  letters.  Note,  for  example,  the  spacing  of  the 
upper  lines  in  the  poster  by  Mr.  Crane,  87.  It  is  by  no 
means  essential  to  draw  the  same  letter  always  exactly 
alike  even  in  the  same  line;  in  fact,  variation  is  generally 
demanded  by  the  different  surroundings  and  neighboring 
letters.  So  long  as  the  general  character  of  the  letter 
remains  unchanged  in  its  distinctive  features,  such  as  weight, 


206  TO     THE     BEGINNER 

treatment  of  serifs,  angles,  height  of  waist  and  cross  lines, 
etc.,  its  width  and  outlines  may  be  varied  and  arranged  to 
help  out  the  spacing  without  interfering,  to  any  noticeable 
extent,  with  the  uniform  appearance  of  the  line. 

In  Roman  lettering  emphasis  may  be  obtained  for  any 
special  word  by  spacing  its  letters  farther  apart.  This  has 
something  of  the  same  emphasizing  effect  as  the  use  of 
Italic,  without  so  greatly  breaking  the  harmony  of  the  line. 
Much  of  the  lettering  of  the  Italian  Renaissance  shows 
a  very  subtle  appreciation  of  this  use,  and  in  some  of  the 
most  beautiful  inscriptions  the  important  words  are  often 
so  differentiated,  while  others  are  emphasized  by  slightly 
larger  characters. 

As  a  general  rule,  and  within  certain  limits,  the  wider  a 
letter  the  more  legible  it  is  likely  to  be.  Blackness  and 
boldness  of  stem  alone  will  not  make  a  letter  readable. 
Width,  boldness  of  hair  lines  and  serifs,  and  a  proper 
amount  of  surrounding  white  space  are  more  essential. 
The  Roman  letter  is  more  legible  than  the  Blackletter 
mainly  because  it  is  black  against  a  roomy  white  ground ; 
while  Blackletter,  on  the  contrary,  is  really  defined  by  small 
interrupted  areas  of  whites  upon  a  black  ground. 

A  common  limitation  of  many  draughtsmen  is  that  they 
become  accomplished  in  the  rendering  of  but  one  style  of 
letter,  and  find  themselves  obliged  to  use  it  on  all  occa- 
sions, whether  it  be  suited  to  the  work  in  hand  or  not, 
because  they  can  command  no  other.  In  the  case  of 
certain  designers,  of  course,  the  individuality  of  their  work 
is  strong  enough  to  bind  both  lettering  and  design  so 
closely  together  that  they  can  never  seem  at  dissonance ; 
but,  speaking  generally,  the  adherance  to  the  use  of  but 


207 

one  type  of  letter  can  be  but  narrowing.  The  beginner 
is  urged,  therefore,  to  practice  the  use  of  many  styles,  even 
at  the  expense  of  gaining  an  immediate  mastery  over  no 
one  form.  He  will  find  himself  amply  repaid  in  the  end 
by  the  increase  in  freedom  and  variety. 

While  the  student  should  possess  enough  knowledge  of 
the  historic  styles  and  examples  of  lettering  to  prevent 
him  from  using  incongruous  or  anachronous  forms  in  the 
same  design,  historic  accuracy  need  not  prevent  him  from 
engrafting  the  characteristics  of  dissimilar  styles  upon  one 
another,  provided  that  the  results  prove  harmonious  and 
appropriate. 

Finally,  the  draughtsman's  first  aim  should  be  to  make 
his  lettering  readable :  after  this  has  been  accomplished  he 
should  strive  to  give  it  beauty.  Art  in  lettering  is  only  to 
be  attained  by  solving  the  problem  of  legibility  in  the  way 
most  pleasing  to  the  eye.  Good  lettering  should  appeal 
both  to  the  eye  and  to  the  mind.  Only  when  it  combines 
legibility  with  beauty  can  it  be  excellent. 


INDEX 


A.,  6,  9. 

Abbey,   Edwin   A.,   97,    132, 

140.  . 

Accenting,  of  Blackletters,  132; 
of  Roman  Capitals,  2 ;  of 
Minuscules,  56;  of  Round 
Gothic,  132;  of  Italic  and 
Script,  182. 

American  Lettering,  Modern 
Roman,  53,  64,  75,  82,  97; 
Classic  Roman,  3,14;  Gothic, 
132,  136,  140,  142;  Italic, 
194,  198;  Script,  194,  198. 

Anglo-Saxon  Letters,  46,  47  ; 
modern  use  of,  46. 

Ascenders,  height  above  body, 
57;  in  "Cheltenham  Old 
Style ' '  type,  7 1 ;  in  Gothic, 
131;  in  Blackletters,  135. 

Ashbee,  C.  R.,  74. 

Auriol,  George,  88. 

B.,  6. 

Badia,  Florence,  lettering  from, 

45- 

Bell,  Robert  Anning,  96. 
Blacked-in  letters,  202. 
Blackletters,  127,131,132,140, 

141,  142;  accents  of,   132; 
ascenders  and  descenders  of, 
135;    capitals  for  use  with, 
134,  136,  139;  a  condensed 
form  of  Gothic,  128;  construc- 
tion of,  132,  141;  definition 


of,  128,  131;  effect  of  page 
of,  132;  with  Roman  letters, 
72  ;  even  color  of,  134;  flour- 
ishes, 135;  individual  letter 
forms,  132,  136;  illegibility 
of,  135,  136,  206;  a  part- 
Roman  form,  84 ;  a  narrow 
form,  132;  old  examples  of, 
136;  in  panel  forms,  136; 
used  solidly,  134,  135;  spac- 
ing of,  134,  136;  variety  of, 
82,  132,  135,  136. 

Bonnard,  Pierre,  91,  92. 

Border,  to  lay  out  a,  204. 

Boston  Public  Library,  14. 

Bragdon,  Claude  Fayette,  64, 
in,  194. 

Brasses,  Blackletters  from,  138, 
140. 

Bridwell,  H.  L.,  8,  112. 

Bristol-board,  201. 

Byzantine  influence  on  Italian 
lettering,  45. 

Co 
. ,    o. 

Capitals,  used  with  Roman  min- 
uscules, 57;  with  Round 
Gothic,  132;  with  Blacklet- 
ters, 136,  139;  (see  also 
under  Blackletter,  Roman, 
Gothic, Italic,  Modern  Roman 
Capitals,  Script,  Round 
Gothic,  Uncial). 

"Caroline"  Text,  52. 


210 


INDEX 


Caslon,  William,  64;  his  type, 

69. 

Centering  lines  of  lettering,  202. 
Charlemagne,  52. 
"Cheltenham  Old  Style"  type, 

?>• 

Cheltenham  Press,  The,  7 1 . 

Chisel-cut  guide  lines,  3. 
Classic    Capitals,    see    Roman 

Capitals. 
Classic  forms  of  letters,  to  draw, 

3,  6,  20 1 ;  composition  of,  6  ; 

Italian   Renaissance,   15,  27, 

3°- 
"Colonial"  lettering,  117. 

Constantine,  Arch  of,  lettering 
from,  I  I. 

Construction,  of  Blackletters, 
132;  of  Roman  Capitals,  3, 
6 ;  of  Roman  Minuscules, 

„  53,  56. 

Craig,  Gordon,  95,  96. 
Crane, Walter,  47,92,200,  205. 
Cross-bar  in  Roman  Capitals,  6. 
"Cursive"  Letters,  91,  122. 
Cursive  tendency  in  Script  let- 
tering, 182. 

D.,  8. 

'  Dance  of  Death,'   Holbein's, 

117. 

Day,  Lewis  F.,  93. 
Descenders,  (see  Ascenders). 
De  Vinne,  Theo.  L.,  69. 
Dove's  Press,  The,  69. 
Drawing  of  letters,  201,  202, 

205;  for  reproduction,  203, 

204. 
Diirer,  Albrecht,  31,  132,  138, 

141. 


E.,  6,  104. 

Early  Gothic,   (see  Round 

Gothic). 

Early  Printing,  52,  64,  71. 
Edwards,  Edward  B.,  116. 
Edwards,  George  Wharton,  194. 
Emphasis  in  lettering,  placing  of, 

206  (see  also  Accenting). 
English    Brasses    derived    from 

Flanders,  141. 
English  Gothic,  140,  141. 
English   lettering,  modern,   75, 

82,  92. 
English,  Letters,  47 ;  Script,  1 8 8, 

(see  also  Anglo-Saxon). 
Engraved  Title-pages,    French, 

1 88. 
Enlarging  Drawings,  203,  204. 

F.,  6,  104. 

f.,  56. 

Fell,  H.  Granville,  96. 

Flanders,  Brasses  from,  141. 

Flourishing,  of  Blackletters,  135; 
of  Script,  194,  198. 

Free-hand  lines,  202. 

French,  modern  lettering,  74, 
82,  86;  Script,  188,  194. 

Freedom,  in  lettering,  53,  74, 
82,  92,  102,  1 1 8,  122,  201; 
in  Blackletters,  136;  in  Goth- 
ic, 127;  in  Italic,  198;  in 
kerns,  serifs  and  swash-lines, 
etc.,  53 ;  in  Roman  letters, 
82  ;  in  Script,  183. 

G.,  8. 

g->  57- 

Georgian  English  lettering,  117, 
183,  194,  198. 


INDEX 


211 


German  lettering,  modern,  74, 

82,  84,  92  ;  early,  1 10,  1 17; 

Script,  52,  1 88;  types,  52. 
Goodhue,    Bertram    Grosvenor, 

71,  102,  136,  142. 
Gothic    Capitals,    for    use   with 

Blackletters,  139;  pen  drawn, 

1 40  ;  not  to  be  used  to  form 

words,  132. 
Gothic,    English,    (see    English 

Gothic ) . 
Gothic  lettering,  I  27,  131,  134, 

205  ;  cut  in  stone,  140;  (see 

also  Blackletters  and  Uncial). 
Granite,  letters  cut  in,   11,  14, 

(see  also   Stone-cut,  V-sunk 

and  Incised). 
Grasset,  Eugene,  86. 
Greek  type,  73. 
Grolier  Club,  69. 
Guide-lines,  3,  204. 

H.,  6. 

-Half-Uncial,"  52. 

Harvard  Architectural  Building, 

lettering  on,  14. 
Hazenplug,  Frank,  116,  198. 
Historic    styles    of   lettering, 

knowledge  of,  207. 
Holbein's    'Dance    of   Death' 

initials,  1 1  7. 
Home,  Herbert  P.,  72. 
Hrachowina,  C.,  188. 
Hupp,  Otto,  142. 

I.,  8,  9  ;  space  around,  205. 
Illegibility  of  Blackletters,    135, 

136. 
Image,  Selwyn,  73,  93. 


Incised  letters  in  stone,  Gothic, 
139,  140;  Classic  Roman,  9, 
14,  45  ;  (see  also  Granite, 
Inlaid,  .  Marble,  Sandstone, 
V-sunk  and  Stone-cut). 

Ink,  20 1. 

Inking-in  lettering,  200,  202. 

Inlaid  lettering,  Gothic,  141. 

Interlacement  of  Script  letters 

Ki- 
lmer-relation of  letters,  6,  135, 

20 1. 

lorio,  Adrian  J.,  107. 
Irish  letters,  (see  Anglo-Saxon). 
Italian,  Blackletters,    139,   141; 
modern  lettering,  92  ;  Renais- 
sance (see  Renaissance);  Ro- 
man small  letters,  64  ;  types, 
52  ;  writing-books,  64,  183  ; 
letters,  drawing  of,  20 1 . 
Italic,  52,  182,  i  88,  194,  198; 
capitals,  182,   198;  drawing 
of,  205  ;  emphasis  of,  206. 

J-,  8. 

j.,  56. 

Jenson,  Nicholas,  64. 

Jones,  A.  Garth,  96. 

K.,  6. 
L,  56. 

Kerns,  53,  56. 
Kimball,  H.  Ingalls,  71. 

L.,  104. 

Late  Gothic,  (see  Blackletter) . 
Laying  out,  lettering,  200,  20 1 , 
203,  204,  205;  a  border,  204. 
Le  Boutillier,  Addison  B.,  no. 


212 


INDEX 


Legibility  of  lettering,  206,  207; 
of  Round  Gothic,  132. 

Letters,  outlines  of,  202,  206  ; 
widths  of,  206  ;  to  lay  out, 
205;  execution  of  in  various 
materials,  14;  (see  also 
Brasses,  Inlaid,  Marble,  Gran- 
ite, Pen  and  Printed  forms, 
Sandstone,  Type). 

Lines,  heavy,  199;  narrow,  199; 
thin,  200  ;  in  water  -  color, 
200 ;  freehand,  202,  203  ; 
ruled,  202. 

Linking,  of  Blackletters,  136; 
of  Round  Gothic,  132;  of 
Roman  Capitals,  45;  of  Script, 
182. 

Lowell,  Orson,  117. 

M.,  2,  28. 
m.,  56. 

Marble,  letters  cut  in,  17,  27, 
(see  also  Incised,  Inlaid). 

Marsuppini  tomb,  Florence,  28. 

Magonigle,  H.  Van  Buren,  102. 

McKim,  Mead  &  White,  archi- 
tects, 14. 

Medals,  lettering  on,  30. 

Merrymount  Press,  The,  71,72. 

"Merrymount"  type,  71. 

Minuscule,  I ;  modern  Roman, 
52,  53,  56,  57,  64;  monu- 
mental uses,  57;  composition 
of,  64;  growing  use  of,  76, 
122;  spacing  of,  57;  (see 
also,  Roman,  Gothic,  Italic, 
Script). 

Modern  lettering,  (see  under 
countries.  American,  English, 
French,  German,  Italian). 


Modern    Roman    Capitals,    6 ; 

(see  Chapter  II). 
Modern  type,  (see  Type). 
"Montaigne"  type,  69. 
"Mont'  Allegro"  type,  73. 
Moore,  Guernsey,  1 1 6. 
Morris,  William,  7  2 ;  types  of, 

69. 
Mucha,  Alphons  M.j  91. 

N.,  2.^ 

Netherlands,  brasses  from,  141. 
New,  Edmund  H.,  96. 
Nicholson,  William,  95. 

O.,  8,  182. 
O.,  182 

Optical  Illusions  in  Roman  Capi- 
tals, 8. 
Outline  letters,  202. 

P.,  6. 

Pantheon,    Rome,    Raphael's 

tomb,  27. 

Papers,  drawing,  201. 
Parchment,  I  28. 
Parrish,  Maxfield,  110,  122. 
Parsons,  Alfred,  96. 
Pens,  199,  20 1 ;  crowquill,  199; 

reed,    2 ;  ruling,    202 ;  stub, 

200 ;   quill,  200. 
Pen  drawn  forms  of  letters,  9, 

Z7>  3°>  3!»  45>  56>  64»  74» 

76,  122,  140,  l82,  199,  2O2. 

Pencils,  200,  201. 

Penfield,    Edward,    100,    116, 

118,  198. 
Petrarch,    5  2 ;    handwriting   of, 

182. 
Pisano,  Vittore,  30. 


INDEX 


213 


"Post  Old  Style"  type,  116. 

Presses,  (see  Merrymount,Vale, 
Riverside,  Cheltenham, 
Dove's,  and  De  Vinne). 

Printed  forms  of  Roman  letters, 
9>  3°>  52>  53»  56»  64>  69> 

122. 

Printers,  German,  52;  Italian, 
5  2,  64  ;  American,  69  ;  Eng- 
lish, 64,. 69,  72,  73;  Vene- 
tian, 53,  64. 

Proportions  of  a  design,  203. 

Puttner,  Walter,  142. 

Pyle,  Howard,  117. 

Qi,  2,  8,  92. 
"  Quadrigesimale,"  69. 
Quill  pens,    200;    method  of 
holding,  2,  131. 

R.,  2,  6,  8. 

Railton,  Herbert,  96. 

Raphael's  tomb,  lettering  from, 
27.  ( 

Reduction  of  drawings,  203, 204. 

Renaissance,  letters,  15,  27,  30; 
artists  of  the,  5  3  ;  lettering  of 
the  Italian,  206  ;  medals,  30; 
purity  of  letter  shapes,  69. 

Renner,  69. 

Renner  type,  69. 

Reproduction  of  drawings,  203. 

Ricketts,  Charles,  93. 

Riverside  Press,  The,  69. 

Rogers,  Bruce,  69,  194. 

Roman  Capitals,  I,  27;  (see 
also  Modern  Roman);  thick 
and  thin  lines  of,  1 ,  6  ;  model 
for,  3  ;  rules  for,  2 ;  square- 


ness of,  i ,  6,  131;  peculiar- 
ities of,  6,  8. 

Roman  letters,  127,  136;  with 
Italic,  182;  combined  with 
Script  and  Italic,  194;  cross 
bars  of,  6 ;  definition  of,  I ; 
legibility  of,  206  ;  waist  lines 
of,  6 ;  width  proportions  of,  6. 

Roman  minuscules,  (see  Minus- 
cule). 

Roman  forms,  Gothic  Spirit  in, 
84;  Uncial,  128. 

Romanesque  influence  on  Italian 
lettering,  45. 

Ross,  Albert  R.,  3,  11,32,  56. 

Roty,  O.,  30. 

Round  Gothic,  analysis  of,  131; 
definition  of,  131;  capitals  to 
use  with,  132,  139. 

Round  letters,  capitals,  2,  3 ; 
Minuscules,  56,  71;  stone- 
cut,  3,  9. 

Rubbings,  from  inscriptions,  1 1 , 
1 6. 

Ruling  pen,  202. 

S.,  8. 

Sandstone,  letters  cut  in,  1 4. 

Santa  Croce,  Florence,  lettering 
from,  28,  141. 

Script,  182,  183,  1 8 8,  194, 
198;  capitals,  1 88;  cursive 
tendency  in,  182;  developed 
from  writing  hands,  182; 
drawing  of,  205 ;  French, 
1 88  ;  German,  1 88  ;  on  Eng- 
lish headstones  and  wall  tombs, 
1 88;  Spanish,  188;  used  in 
engravings,  1 88;  used  with 
upright  Roman,  182,  183. 


214 


INDEX 


Serifs,  8,  16;  definition  of,  3; 
in  Minuscule  letters,  53,  69, 
71;  in  Italic  letters,  182; 
treatment  of,  206. 

Serlio,  Sebastian,  3,  II,  32. 

Shadows  in  V-sunk  letters,  10, 
n,  14. 

Shaw,  Byam,  96. 

Simpson,  Joseph  W.,  93. 

Small  letters,  (see  Minuscule, 
also  Modern  Roman,  Gothic, 
Script  and  Italic). 

Spacing,  of  Classic  Roman  let- 
ters, 6,  8 ;  of  Blackletters, 
128,  134,  136;  of  Minus- 
cules, 53,  56,  57;  of  type, 
56;  of  "Montaigne"  type, 
69;  of  "  Cheltenham  "  type, 
7 1 ;  of  letters  and  words,  201 , 
205  ;  emphasis  obtained  by, 
206. 

Spanish,  Script,  188;  Roman 
letters,  64;  writing-books, 
64,  183. 

Stone-cut  letters,  Roman,  3,  9, 
14;  (see  also  Incised,  V-sunk, 
Granite,  Marble,  Sandstone). 

Sullivan,  James  F. ,  96. 

Swash  lines,  2,  53,  136. 

T.,  8,  28. 

Tagliente,  G.  A.,  31. 
Thompson,  Hugh,  96. 
Tory,  Geoffrey,  31. 
Townsend,  Harry  Everett,  117. 
Transferring  of  lettering,  202. 
Type,  9,  52,  64,  74. 
Type-founders,  9,  56,  64. 


Type  models  for  pen  lettering, 
use  of,  74,  76,  122. 

Uncial  letters,  45,  76,  84,  92, 
128;  Gothic,  139;  metal 
forms  of,  1 40 ;  pen  forms  of, 
1 40  ;  stone-cut,  1 40 ;  stone 
and  marble,  139. 

Updike,  D.  Berkeley,  71. 

V.,  9. 

Vale  Press,  The,  93. 
Van  Rysselberghe,  Theo.,  91. 
Venetian  printers,  53,  64. 
Verneuil,  M.  P.,  86. 
Vinci,  Leonardo  da,  3 1 . 
V-sunk  Roman  lettering,  9,  10, 
14;   (see  also  Incised). 

W.,  9. 
w.,  56. 

Waist  lines,  6,  204 ;  of  Roman 

letters,  6,  204,  206. 
Westminster    Abbey,    England, 

188. 
Width    proportions,   of   Roman 

Capital  letters,  6. 
Writing-books,  64,  183. 
Writing  hand,  188  ;  of  Petrarch, 

182  ;  Script  developed  from, 

182. 

X.,  6. 

Y.,  6. 

y.,  56. 

Z.,    2. 


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